The Story of the Moral
by Another Duck
Summary: Spoilers for series finale. Azula-centric, non-shipping fic, although that doesn't exclude relationships. A light-hearted but analytical in-depth view of what happens with Azula on her adventures after the series finale.
1. Awakening

The Story of the Moral

An Azula-centric fanfic.

Disclaimer: "Avatar: The Last Airbender" was created by Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino.

Author's notes:

I wrote this fic because I find Azula to be an interesting character psychologically. For that reason, this fic is very analytical. However, most fics concerning this topic are much too angsty for my tastes, so this one is a little bit more light-hearted. The hard part is getting her in-character while acting very differently due to different circumstances. I would really like comments on how I succeed with that, and I like discussions about the characters and the reasoning behind their actions. I'm not afraid of criticism.

I started writing without any intention of redeeming Azula, nor pairing any specific characters up. This allowed me to focus more on a natural plot development, rather than something forced. What actually happens is another matter, though. You'll just have to read to find out. And I'll have to write to find out...

The fic will be updated once a week, probably Fridays or Saturdays, depending on my time. I had originally planned 10-15 chapters, but there will be a few more, due to plot additions.

/ Another Duck

A A L L Z I W U E A L S Y A S

Awakening

A A L L Z I W U E A L S Y A S

The sound of a door opening stirred the sleeping princess awake. Soft footsteps came closer to where she was lying in a familiar bed.

"Oh, are you awake, Mistress?"

The voice was gentle, and Azula instantly recognised it as one of the servants'. This brought some confusion to her mind, still heavy from sleep. Didn't she tell all her servants to leave? Something wasn't right with this. Too tired to do something about it, she planned on waiting to see what the situation was. Had her father won against the Avatar and reinstated the servants to take care of her?

"I will tell the Fire Lord you have awoken."

Tell the Fire Lord? Wasn't she the Fire Lord? They couldn't have lost, could they? She'd be in the dungeon by now if they had. This was her own bed. She let out a sigh, trying to clear the cobwebs cluttering her mind. Was she ill? She sure didn't feel like she used to in the mornings. The sun normally gave her strength to just jump out of bed, ready for any battle in an instant, but right now, she just felt like doing absolutely nothing.

"How are you, Azula?"

It was her brother who asked that. Her exiled brother. When did he enter the room? She shot out of her bed like a catapult, or she would have, if she hadn't almost blacked out from the sudden movement. As she fell back down she heard him say something, but the blood rushing around her head prevented her from hearing anything. She took a few breaths to calm herself and tried to think.

How did he come to be here, and why did he sound so... _nice_... and caring? This had to be investigated before she would decide how to deal with it. It wouldn't do her good to rush into something without even the most basic of intelligence. She opened her eyes again to look at him, and a recognisable figure faded slowly into view.

"Zuzu? What's going on here? How did I get here?"

"A lot of things have happened. You've been asleep for many days now. The most important things are that the war is over, and that you are safe."

He sounded as if he tried to comfort her. She knew he had some odd ideals about right and wrong, but wasn't she on the other side of that? If she didn't know better, she'd believe he was sincere. It made her want to flee, but at the same time, she realised there were no place to flee too. If they had lost, she wouldn't have anywhere to flee to, in particular considering her current state. Might as well find out as much as possible.

"The war is over? Who won?"

"I would say we all did. Aang defeated our father. I took over as Fire Lord, and declared peace."

The thought of her father gone struck her with something resembling terror. But, she noted, it wasn't as bad as she had thought. Her curiosity quickly took over when she found that there were pieces missing. There were a lot of feelings she had expected that just weren't there. Yes, she was scared about the consequences, but she didn't feel particularly sad over the loss of the one person she'd looked up to her entire life. Maybe she was just too tired to care, but it didn't make any sense. Little did at the moment.

Sitting down on the bed, he placed a hand over hers. "Relax, sister. I told you you are safe, and I meant it."

"Didn't I kill you?" The question left her mouth before she fully realised what it meant. Something seemed true about it, but he wasn't dead. It really made no sense at all. She couldn't be talking to a dead person. She was many things, but crazy wasn't one of them.

"You did. Katara told me I had been far beyond what she could heal."

"But how...?" A vague memory flashed before her eyes. It was Zuko lying motionless on the ground. She had hit him with one of the largest lightning blasts she had ever managed to generate. She didn't remember actually doing it, but she knew she had. Somehow.

"You saved me. You brought me back."

She blinked. She blinked hard. "I'm insane, aren't I?" It was the only logical explanation she could find. She'd lost her mind, and this was all some kind of hallucination. Lifting her hand, she pinched his arm.

"Ow! You're supposed to pinch yourself to check if you're awake."

Despite his claim that she used the wrong method, it worked for her. This was apparently reality. If only she could make sense of it. Her father was dead, Zuko was Fire Lord. It was too much, too early in the morning. Too much that didn't make sense.

"I need to rest." She closed her eyes and drifted off almost immediately. He probably said something else she didn't catch.

A A L L Z I W U E A L S Y A S

No one was around when she awoke next. It took her a few minutes, but eventually the previous day came to her. Or at least, she thought she had slept another day. It was hard to tell. Time was still fuzzy to her, as many other things were. Apparently, she was safe, because Zuko was the Fire Lord, and he didn't want to kill her any more. That was good. Her father was dead. That was... not sad. It wasn't much of anything. It was empty.

She was going to be the Fire Lord once her father retired, or he messed up enough for her to take over anyway. She looked up to her father, and now he was gone. No, she didn't look up to her father. She looked up to the Fire Lord. Her brother became the Fire Lord. Did she look up to him? She didn't know. She didn't know where her life was now, or where it would lead. Her carefully planned future was gone. Empty.

What was she to do now? Who cared about her? As of on cue, words flew past her mind. "Your father doesn't care about you! No one does! You killed the only person who did!" Where did the words come from? Who said them? They sounded motherly, but angry. Was it her mother? No, she was gone. Azula could just conclude one thing.

"No one cares about me." Her father didn't care, and he was dead anyway, so who would? She'd done so much to gain his love, but in the end, it didn't even matter. He didn't care about her. No one did. The thought ran through her mind, over and over again. It didn't make her sad, just lost. So very lost. What would she do? Who was she? It was too much, but sleeping more wasn't an option.

Her stomach growled.

A A L L Z I W U E A L S Y A S

Zuko watched his sister enter the dining room, still wearing her night clothes. Her hair was loose and out of place, something he'd only seen once, and that was at the last Agni Kai. Her dark, golden eyes resembled Toph's more than anyone else's. The colour was as shining as ever, perhaps even more so than usual, but the focus was just dull, like she wasn't home. Her movement was much the same. Almost gliding over the floor, she came to her usual seat next to the Fire Lord's place at the head of the table.

A servant placed breakfast in front of her as was expected, and perhaps even more anticipated, she didn't react at the food. Zuko didn't really like seeing his sister like that. Even her evil smirk would be better.

"Are you hungry?" Truthfully, he was more concerned about how she was feeling in general, but he thought a more casual question was more appropriate. However, he didn't get an answer. Instead, she looked down at her food, inspected it with the same dull look that hadn't left her face the entire time, then just began eating mechanically. "Are you in there?" Sarcasm could help sparking at least some emotion, he hoped. Even more than that, he hoped he was just sarcastic.

She gave him a look. Her expression still didn't change, nor did the lost focus in her eyes, but he knew her well enough to determine she at least wasn't completely gone. Probably mulling over the situation. He was fairly certain she wasn't plotting anything, though. She always hid that with something to distract people from any thoughts about plans, unless she actually wanted to look like she knew everything anyone would do in the forthcoming week, or more.

"You're free to go where ever you wish, although I'd recommend against leaving the royal grounds. People still think you were a great leader, but they like peace more, and you were a military leader to them. I'm afraid there might be someone who want you ill."

As he spoke, she listened; he was sure of it. Not that she gave any reaction, but he preferred to think that she did. Meanwhile, she finished what was on her plate. When she noticed there was nothing more to eat, she tapped the table gently, and her plate was changed for a full one moments after. Now he really was sure. Maybe she wasn't doing great, but she was recovering. At least she was hungry.

"I'm glad to see that you're eating. After the time you've been asleep, you must be starving."

He thought she nodded, but the gesture was so slight it might just have been his imagination.

A door opened, and a servant entered. "Your attendance is requested in the throne room, Fire Lord."

"Azula, do you need anything of me?"

This time, she did shake her head.

"Okay, just call for me if you need anything."

A A L L Z I W U E A L S Y A S

He didn't see her after that until just before dusk. She was sitting on the edge of a balcony, staring out towards the descending sun. Her hair was done up as perfectly as he remembered it always be, and she wore her usual uniform, even if she didn't wear the armour. Walking up to lean on the railing she was sitting on, he cast her a glance.

"Hey. You're not planning on jumping, are you?" It was rather far down, and while he could probably survive it, he wasn't sure she would in her current state, in particular if she didn't make the effort.

"No. Thinking."

"About what?" She was talking. That was always a plus. Monotone, but she was still saying something.

"Everything. Nothing. Emptiness."

"I think I understand, at least partially. You cared about father, and you thought he cared about you. I know what that feels like." She didn't say anything, so he just continued. "When I realised that pleasing my dad wasn't what I wanted, and that no amount of redemption would be enough in his eyes, I left. The time between the realisation and when I decided to leave was the hardest in my life. The goal I had since I was born wasn't there any more, and I wasn't hunting the Avatar either. It felt like there was nothing left for me. No one who cared about me. I had betrayed the only one who did care."

"I killed the only person who cared about me. No one cares about me."

"I still care about you. I haven't always liked you, but I've always cared."

She turned to him with something that could be interpreted as a shadow of a smile. She didn't say anything, but instead went back to watching the glowing orb in the distance after a while. The silence lingered, but it was a comfortable one. He felt there was something on her mind, but didn't want to push it. She'd talk when she was ready, as always. Time went on, and he considered turning in, but as soon as he moved, she spoke.

"I don't know what to do. Everything is so... hazy."

"Get some practice. That has always helped you focus." He wasn't quite sure if that was true or not, because she always did practice, and she was always focused at what she did. There had to be a connection, he figured.

Nodding, she swung her legs back to the balcony and walked towards the courtyard where their Agni Kai had taken place. Wanting to make sure she was okay, Zuko followed. When they arrived, he stepped a few paces away from her to give her room for whatever form she'd choose to do.

She took a few breaths to prepare herself mentally, then faced her brother with a determined look in her eyes. She was a warrior at heart. If life was a battle, she could overcome anything. Sadly, her life had balanced on only a few pillars, namely her father, her two friends and possibly Zuko himself. One by one, they had been taken away from her, leaving her to face all the pressure alone. Her bottled emotions had surfaced and almost destroyed her.

He knew she could handle pressure, she'd shown that before. He also knew she had never had to handle as much as he had. Her life hadn't been easy, but she had a talent for it. He had to fight his hardest for everything, which in the end made him the stronger of the two. But right now, it was about fighting, and he had always envied her for that. Right now, he sincerely hoped it would prove to be the pillar she needed.

Her moves were strict. One could say they lacked spirit, but it was impossible to say they weren't perfectly correct. Sharp and swift were her kicks. Her punches were defined and powerful. There was just one thing lacking. Fire. She normally threw fireballs with almost any attack while practising, but this time, none came. Stopping at the same spot she started, she closed her eyes and bowed her head forward.

"I can't bend any fire." Her voice was depressing, like she had lost a part of herself. Zuko had never heard her so dejected, so resigned.

He had an idea of why. After all, he ran into the same problem when he first started teaching Aang. She didn't have the same goals, if any, as she did before, and she was rather lifeless in spirit. "Try lightning." Even if both flames and electricity were firebending, they worked on different principles. He never managed to bend the energy in the air, but Azula managed even when she lost her mind, something that sounded theoretically impossible as far as he knew.

She stepped into the middle of the area to get more room. Drawing two fingers in a circular motion, she seemed to be confused at the blue sparks that followed. A rather decent bolt of lightning shot out when she pointed skywards. There didn't seem to be any problems, so why was she perplexed?

With renewed vigour she drew more and more circles, in an increasingly complex pattern. The pale streaks were woven all around her, forming a cage of electricity. Soon Zuko noticed that his hair stood on end, and he was getting uncomfortable with how the air felt.

Eventually she stopped, frozen in concentration, and in the blink of an eye, a humongous flash struck down at the centre of the courtyard with a deafening crack. He had to dodge behind a pillar to avoid some large pieces of rubble that flew his direction. A deadly silence followed.

A A L L Z I W U E A L S Y A S

Author's notes:

Thus ends the first chapter of the story. I rather liked how this one turned out. I hope Azula's personality is logical following the series, and considering the events written and alluded to here. That's going to be the main point I want to hear about for the rest of the fanfic. Please let me know what you think.

/ Another Duck


	2. End of a Life

The Story of the Moral

An Azula-centric fanfic.

Disclaimer: The chance of being killed by lightning once you're struck is approximately 1/4.

Author's notes:

Something I wanted to do in the first chapter but for some reason didn't, was to thank my beta-reader. Her name is, or at least her account name here is RadiantBeam. Props to her.

Yes, AALLZIWUEALSYAS does mean something. It's not relevant to the fic, but relevant to Avatar. If you figure it out, I'll have to change it. And if you want responses to your reviews, sign in and review. I might answer critical questions here, but I do like to discuss the series and the fic, which I rather do in messages or emails.

/ Another Duck

A A L L Z I W U E A L S Y A S

End of a Life

A A L L Z I W U E A L S Y A S

"Azula!" What had happened? What had she done? Was she alive? Surely no one could survive that. Dust covered the entire area, but as it settled, it showed a large crater where she had been. A second later, he saw that his sister was still standing on a small pillar in the middle, one hand stretched straight up. She was panting heavily, but with a smile on her face.

Unlike the previously dead tone she had used, she now sounded rather amused, and more importantly, alive. "My lightningbending still works."

It was the understatement of the year, so Zuko just folded his arms and gave her a look. "Oh, really?" You didn't need to have Azula's skill in reading people to pick up on the sarcasm.

Surveying the scene, she actually looked a bit embarrassed at what she had done. "I might've overdone it a little."

"Just a little." He was still eyeing her as she made her way over to him. "Please don't ever do that again."

Her eyelids lowered a bit as she lost some of her levity. "I'm not sure I can."

"Oh." He wasn't sure what to make of that.

Her eyes opened again to show more life than he remembered seeing at all.. "It's a good thing. I've never felt such power flowing through me." Her words were drenched with astonishment. "It was intoxicating. I really felt alive." She sighed softly, and continued in a more serious tone. "It also opened my eyes. I can't keep feeling as I did before. The emptiness isn't a fun place to be. I don't know where to go, but I can't remain there. Sure, it's much easier to control my lightning in that state, but the power just isn't worth it."

Zuko gave a laugh, to which she raised an eyebrow. "I never thought I'd live to hear you say power wasn't worth it."

She had to agree to that. The thought was entertaining, as it was the same thing she believed herself. "It doesn't sound quite like me, does it? The evil monster Azula giving up power for _emotions_, of all things."

"You can be scary, but you're not a monster, Azula."

Yes, I am. She almost said it out loud, but was reminded of when she started to consider herself as such. It wasn't hard, as it had been a major source of the emotions she had kept hidden. "Mother thought so."

His voice gained considerable weight as he sobered up. "No, she doesn't. Our mom cares about you too."

"No. I'm quite certain she thought I was a monster." Her mother definitely thought so. She had to have. Why else would she have been so cold to her?

He grabbed her shoulders to look into her eyes with a determined countenance. "That's where you're wrong. She does care. She told me."

This was getting uncomfortable. She wasn't really used to be put on the spot when it came to her emotions. Her real emotions, not the ones she claimed to have. Her actions, sure, but emotions? No, she wished he would stop. Knowing her brother, he probably wouldn't. "It's not like it matters anyway. I got over that."

"No, you didn't."

That's nothing he should know about. She had kept it as deep down as she could, and placed her father's affections above it to cover it even more. With him gone, it was more difficult, but she could do it. She was a master of manipulation, after all, both with others' and her own feelings. "How would you know about that?"

He let her go, and went to lean against a column. "Back when the four of us was on Ember Island the last time, you mentioned it. You're usually very careful not to reveal any such emotions, but you lapsed for a moment there. You're a good liar, but I've known you for long enough to pick up on it if you're not careful."

Oh, right, that time. She had slipped, ironically in an attempt at sounding sincere.

"She did care," he repeated. "But it was hard for her. Our father pulled you away from her."

Reflecting on it now when she was more mature, it made sense. Ozai had wanted her to become the next Fire Lord when he died. She'd been more skilled and promising than Zuko. Not to mention more ruthless. The perfect successor. Then he abandoned her in what was supposed to be her real moment of glory. Well, maybe not abandoned, but it felt like it.

He did promote her to Fire Lord right there and then, so she hadn't been completely devastated. However, there was this distinct feeling that he really didn't care about who she was at that time. Just a loyal subject to place in a position so he didn't have to worry about his own nation. After all, what was one country when you could rule the world? Yes, abandoned was the right word. Just like everyone else.

"It hurts to be abandoned. Especially by your own father."

His words surprised her. Had she spoken aloud? No, she hadn't let her control slip that much. Was he reading her mind? No, that was impossible.

"If your whole world is built up around one person, having that person dismiss you would hurt more than anything else. I'd probably go insane if that happened."

He was lying, she could tell. "You wouldn't. You're strong enough to handle it." That much she knew. Her brother would fight until he could fight no more, then still not give up. There was no one more determined than he was. Not even she could measure up to that. Her eyes opened in realisation. "But I would. I did. I went insane." He had been talking about her, not himself.

His expression betrayed nothing. But at the same time, it confirmed what she said. She had lost her mind. It had all become too much for her to handle. First Mai, then Ty Lee; both had left her. The fear of her hadn't been enough to keep them in line. Paranoia had begun creeping into her. It had left her unstable, but still strong enough to appear as her usual unflappable self. On the outside.

Her father had then managed to place all the pressure of ruling a nation on her while simultaneously leaving her in a position he no longer cared about. No longer cared about her. She'd been unable to handle that pressure. She had cracked, and her mother came to haunt her. At that point, her father didn't exist. He was outside the Fire Nation, her nation. All that mattered was that she was the Fire Lord.

It had been all she wanted.

The last straw came later. Her brother, her own brother, wanted to take it all away from her. This was where her memory started to fail her. She remembered rage; rage centred against Zuko. She had blasted him with a rather impressive bolt of lightning. It took him down. She killed him. Wait a minute. "I won that Agni Kai. I defeated you. I should still be the Fire Lord."

"Do you want to?"

That question caught her completely off guard. He was offering to give the title back to her? At the same time, she knew he would do a good job. His words at the breakfast table came back to her. If the world was at peace now, he was better suited for it. "I could not handle the pressure before. It is not in the best interest of the Fire Nation that I lead it." In truth, it scared her. If she'd lost her mind before; what's to say it wouldn't happen again?

"You would have better support this time."

He actually would give the whole country over to her if she wanted. It was what she had wanted her entire life, so why didn't she just accept it? "If we end up in a war again, I take over." That's something she would be able to handle. That's something she was better at.

Zuko nodded. "If the world knows that, it will work in our favour. Some people might dare go up against me, but I doubt they want to deal with you."

A familiar smirk made itself known on Azula's face. "The two of us will make sure the Fire Nation maintains her glory." Something about that made her eyes feel a little odd. There was a sense of fulfilment, like the last piece of one puzzle in her life had been placed.

"You've always wanted this, haven't you?"

"What do you mean?" She wasn't entirely sure of what he was aiming at, although she had an idea.

"You always wanted the two of us to lead. Maybe not like this, but you didn't want me as your enemy."

There were a lot of things she was uncomfortable admitting, but this wasn't one of them, so she nodded. For a long time, he had been a traitor, but she always hoped he would come back to her. He was her brother, after all. "When did you become so wise?" she wondered out loud. "How do you know all this?"

"People skills run in the family, I guess. Back in Ba Sing Se, when we fought in the underground cavern, I saw the look on your face as we fought together. You were happier than usual. You've always been happy about fighting, but that time, you were more so."

She shook her head. "You're right about that. It was the first time since we were small you felt like a brother rather than just an enemy for the throne, but it's not what I meant. You've never shown this level of understanding. As much as I'm ashamed to admit it, you've accurately pointed out every major piece in my life, in just a few minutes. And I've never admitted any of this to anyone. You're smart, but you're not that smart."

He gave her a grin, one she knew she had used many times before. "You have your secrets, and I have mine."

It infuriated her. He wasn't supposed to have secrets when he spilled all of hers. Narrowing her eyes, she stepped up to him and grabbed his shirt to push him against the pillar. "Apparently you already know my secrets, so don't you think it's fair that I get to know yours?"

"Unhand the Fire Lord, Azula."

The order came from somewhere behind her. It was familiar, but the princess wasn't paying attention. "Well?"

"Okay, okay!" Zuko held up his arms. He hadn't planned on keeping the secret, and she knew it. He just needed a bit of pushing, and that's something she was good at. She wasn't even close to being forced to actually carry out any implied threats. "You've slept for over a week, you know that."

"So?"

"I've been watching you, to see if you would awake. However, I've also been worried. You had many nightmares, and during some of them, you talk. It wasn't hard for me to make sense of what you said."

She let him go. "You are a sneaky brother. You used my own tactics against myself. It almost makes me proud. I'd be mad at you, but you did bring me out of my daze." She sighed dramatically. "I must be going soft." The prospect of her statement wasn't as repulsive as she had thought, since along with it came the unfamiliar feeling of trust. Trust that someone actually wanted her well. She was well aware of how much she needed that.

"I think you're just not used to people actually caring about you enough to go against you."

"Maybe not. Either way, I must think." She sighed again, this time deeper and more honest. "So much change. Makes my mind boggle."

"Take care, Azula. I'll see you tomorrow." He started walking towards his bed chambers, patting her shoulder gently as he went past her. "Coming, Mai?"

Oh, right, Mai was the person who spoke before. Busy demanding answers from her brother as she was, Azula had managed to miss that fact.

"Give me a few minutes."

They kissed. She didn't see it, but she had ears.

"I see you're up to your usual tricks, Azula."

Turning around, she came face to face with her old friend. She had the same neutral expression as she always did, but the tone she just used betrayed a little bit of something else. Azula didn't answer. She was unsure of how to feel about this person.

"I want to apologise for betraying you. I couldn't let Zuko die."

That pretty much made Azula make up her mind. At the time, she didn't know why Mai had done what she did, but it was clear now. "You betrayed me, something that eventually led to my insanity. Do you really think I will forgive you?"

"Yes."

It wasn't a surprising answer. Mai was a good judge of character, just like Azula herself. "I'm glad I miscalculated. I never wanted my brother dead, but at that time, several of my enemies would die with him, so I thought it worth it. Thank you for saving him." She'd never been good at saying thanks, but this was one time she could say it honestly.

"What about me?"

Azula detected a faint trace of something in the otherwise monotone voice. Grief. The betrayal hadn't been one-way, she apprehended. At the same time, she felt no remorse, since her actions had been logical at the time. However, Mai deserved something more. Her sacrifice had been to the benefit of them both. "I know it still hurts, but I'm not yet ready to apologise for how I have been treating you. But you do mean more to me than I realised." It was all she could do to gather all conflicting pieces.

Mai nodded. It was all that was needed, as she was the least expressive person Azula had ever known, including the brainwashed people of the Earth Kingdom. "As long as you do not try to kill my husband." The statement was left incomplete, but the meaning was clear.

"I shall strive to not kill him as long as you do not drive me insane. Again." It was an odd feeling. When she found out about it, her insanity had been a little of a sore point, but talking about it herself in a joking manner made it seem like a funny quirk she had.

Smirking at Azula, Mai decided to move on to what she was eyeing currently. "So, what happened here?"

"I found out that there is an upper limit to how much lightning I can charge before the clouds decide it's enough." It had been an interesting discovery. She'd have to look into that later. Lightning had always fascinated her.

Mai nodded again, unsure of this new version of her friend. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I will go see to my husband. He should not allow people to blow up our palace. I may have to do something about it."

A A L L Z I W U E A L S Y A S

The next morning, Zuko noticed that his sister was acting much more like she did when they grew up, although with much less scheming, and her voice held none of the dangerous promises it used to. Then again, other than two conversations, she'd barely spoken at all since she awoke, so he didn't exactly have much to judge on. Added to that, he never knew what side of her he'd see next. He knew she wasn't stable, and her mood shifted constantly between points it had rarely been at before.

"Are you feeling better today?"

"I'm feeling. That's an improvement in itself."

"You'll be back to normal in no time."

She raised an amused eyebrow. "Are you sure you want me back to normal?"

"If you're on my side, and don't plan on killing anyone, then yes. I could use your help with some of the planning I need to be involved in. There's so much to rebuild and restructure."

"Those are excellent reasons why you should remain the Fire Lord. Those were the things I never did look forward to. Damage is just so much more fun than damage control." Her wide grin revealed that while it was very much an honest opinion, it wasn't something she had planned, something Zuko was grateful for. It wasn't above her to actually act on it. "However, I've come to a decision. I'm leaving."

"Leaving? What do you mean leaving?"

"Silly Zuzu," she chided him. "Not like that. I'm just going on a journey. There are a lot of things I need to figure out, and I can't do that while moping about the palace."

"Oh. What do you need to figure out, then?"

"Well, for starters, this." Holding out her hand, she snapped her fingers to cause a small spark that soon died. "I don't look forward to a life without my blue flames. I need to figure out what's wrong with me."

"When I left you to train Aang, I had the same problem."

That was news to her. He had trouble with his firebending? He'd always worked so hard to to match her skill. If anything, she'd think he had practised more than even she did. She practised a lot, being a perfectionist, but he had to train twice as hard to gain the same results.

"Just like you, I had switched goals in my life, and that made it hard for me to draw fire from my emotions as I had done before. I found some masters who helped me with a different source to draw from."

"Where can I find those masters?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that, since Aang and I both swore to keep it a secret. I'm also uncertain if you would be allowed to take the same path. But you've got talent with firebending, so I'm sure you'll find a way."

"Take my own path. Yes, that's what I need to do." She spoke half to her brother, half to herself.

"Where are you going?"

"There are a few people I need to speak with. I want to see how Ty Lee is doing, and I have some questions I think only the Avatar can answer. I don't think he is willing to, but I have to try. There's one more person, but I can't remember who it was."

"Ty Lee is a Kyoshi Warrior now, and she seems to fit in there. Aang can be hard to find, but your best bet would be the Western Air Temple."

"Do you know where uncle Iroh is now? I think he might be able to help as well, if he's willing."

"He doesn't think highly of you, but if you are serious about changing your nature, he might just be. He is a very forgiving man. I think you're in luck if you want to meet him, though. He's visiting a friend at Shu Jing, so you don't have to go all the way to Ba Sing Se."

"Master Piandao."

"Yes." He didn't know Azula would know that, but when it came to her about knowing things, she usually did, or she would quickly find out. "You might be able to help me out anyway. We do need to make up for some of the things the previous generations of Fire Lords have done. I had planned on heading to Kyoshi Island and the Southern Water Tribe, but if you're heading that way, you can take care of it."

She thought about it briefly. It would give her a good excuse to travel around a bit, which she had planned on doing anyway. While the South Pole wasn't one of the places she really wanted to go to, there could be things she would benefit from learning there. Besides, she had a feeling she would have to meet up with the people she had chased along with the Avatar sooner or later, so it wouldn't hurt to try to at least convince them she wasn't after them any more.

"I'll do it. However, I am going to try to find the Avatar first."

"Time is for once not a concern. Take your time."

"There is one thing I want to know before I leave. Why do you trust me?"

"I don't."

"At least you're being honest about that. Well, that and that you're trying to manipulate me into becoming the little sister you really want."

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are. Remember who you're talking with. I know when you lie." Her tone wasn't as accusatory as her words were. As she paused, she glanced aside with a relaxed but somewhat troubled expression. "But I can't say I blame you for that, since I tried to do the same. Besides, I'm not sure it's something I wouldn't like."

He gave her brief smile. "Have you been honest with me?"

"Mostly. There are some things I have hidden. You would only think worse of me if you heard them, but they're also one reason I need to take this trip."

"I do believe you deserve a second chance. You have shown you do care about some people, even if you've kept it hidden behind arrogance and malice. I know mom loves you, but she did make mistakes, and father didn't really help turning you into a good person. Now that you're free to shape your life as you wish, I want to see what you can become."

"Even if my motivations are more selfish than you think they are?" She had to be slipping. That wasn't something she would benefit from by telling him. Still, she was very curious as to what he would say about it.

"Just because you do something for a selfish reason doesn't mean it has to be bad for others."

It made sense, so she let it hang for a few moments before saying anything. "You're a good brother. I should be able to trust you."

"Do you?"

"I don't know. I try, but trusting is hard for me."

"Let's hope you learn that on your journey. I'll send some scrolls with you, and a pair of messenger hawks. Do you need anything else?"

"No, I'm travelling light. I'm taking a balloon so I can be alone to think."

"Okay. Take care, Azula."

Preparations were made, and soon Azula was on her way towards the Western Air Temple.

A A L L Z I W U E A L S Y A S

Author's notes:

Thus ends the second chapter of the story. Azula takes off in a balloon, which marks the beginning of her journey and the end of the beginning. I don't know what the travel times would be, so take if with a grain of salt, because salt is good for you. However, they're probably shorter than they would actually be.

I like this interaction between the two siblings. I've always seen Azula as wanting her brother to become as successful as she was, even if she always placed herself ahead of him. The times when there was no conflict between them, she seemed to care. For instance, when she had given Zuko the credit for Aang's apparent death, it's from my understanding before she got suspicions about if he had actually died or not, seeing as that happened after Ozai had requested to speak with Zuko, but before they met.

/ Another Duck


	3. Bent Mind

The Story of the Moral

An Azula-centric fanfic.

Disclaimer: The voice of Aang was created by Zachary Tyler Eisen.

Author's notes:

Kudos to 3VAD127 for being the first to figure out what _A_**A**l_L_**Z**i_W_**U**e_A_**L**s_Y_**A**_S_ means. In light of that, I'm changing it. I don't have much else to say, so on with the story!

Edited. Forgot the disclaimer.

/ Another Duck

Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M

Bent Mind

Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M

Aang was meditating at the Western Air Temple. No one else was with him, as Momo was with Appa, who was giving other people rides. His friends were spread over the world, either helping with their home towns or visiting family, sometimes both. It was what Aang needed, though. After all that had happened while preparing to fight the Fire Lord and being hunted by his two children, there was a lot the Avatar felt he had neglected.

Focus and harmony of his own mind had been helped by his forced maturity growth, but there were flaws in it he still needed to correct. The adventures he had gone through had made him quite stable, as he now knew he could handle a lot more than he thought at the beginning of his journey. He had learned how to control the Avatar state quite well, as the youngest Avatar in history, according to his previous incarnations.

However, just like elemental bending, practise was always needed. That was another thing he required. He could use all four elements with decent proficiency now, but he was still outmatched by his closest friends in three of the five bending arts. Not to mention, he was the sole practitioner in the two he was the best of, and even then only if you excluded Appa and the lion turtle.

Katara had promised to teach him healing the best she could, but he had trouble with it, so it was a slow learning process. She refused to teach him bloodbending, a fact he didn't mind at all. It was just too creepy to him. Maybe when he got older and had mastered waterbending, but not before that.

Toph never stopped teaching him earthbending whenever they had time, so he was still improving at a decent rate. He understood the principle of metalbending, but so far hadn't managed to bend anything other than minerals with a relatively high iron content.

Zuko had understandably been too busy to aid him with his firebending, and Iroh just wanted to retire in peace with his tea shop. He had also preferred that his nephew handled that, as a part becoming a true master. The older of them was also the only known person in the world capable of lightningbending, other than Azula, so that was something he had to figure out on his own. Suffice to say, without a proper teacher, he had less success with that than with healing.

While meditating he thought he heard something reminiscent of a tree falling. Thinking it was just that, he went back to his spiritual relaxation. Soon after, he definitely heard a repetitive sound; metal clanking against metal. This was something he had to investigate, so he took his glider and flew up from the temple to the forest above.

Immediately he spotted a Fire Nation war balloon which had apparently smashed down a tree while landing. Two messenger hawks were sitting on a nearby tree branch. A girl was trying to fix the aircraft by banging on it with a hammer, obviously rather frustrated with the process, and quite likely even more so with the actual crash. Noticing who she was, he sat quietly down to watch. The annoying sound would've been unbearable for a longer period of time, if it hadn't been for the amusement Aang found in it.

She looked just as she always did, with the small difference that her characteristic bangs had been shortened to only reach down to her eyes. In her concentration on the job, it took her a few minutes to notice she wasn't alone any more, but eventually she did. She didn't start as most people would when finding out they weren't alone. Instead, she just gave a heavy sigh, threw away the hammer, and turned towards him with a neutral countenance. Her surprise that he was there was well hidden, although Aang could still make it out for a brief moment.

"How long have you been sitting there?"

"Since about a minute after you crashed." Honesty was the best approach, he thought. It didn't exactly hurt that it seemed to annoy her. It also made him realise he missed his friends a little, as there was no one to joke around with. Azula may not have been the best subject for that, but since she wasn't trying to sneak up on him, he suspected her intentions weren't hostile.

In line with what he expected, she sat down in front of him with closed eyes, probably preparing to speak.

"Greetings, Avatar. I have come to seek your counsel."

Her voice was cold and emotionless. Yet, Aang noticed it wasn't completely alike what she had sounded like when they had met as enemies. The arrogance he'd come to associate with her, while still very much present, was subdued. Her golden eyes were also somewhat softer than he remembered. Maybe it was just because she had to ask someone she didn't like for advice. Or maybe she was changing.

After all, Katara had told him Azula snapped, not once, but twice. During the Agni Kai it was obvious that she was losing her touch with reality. When the waterbender finally defeated the princess, she snapped. Moments later, when she realised what she had done, she snapped again, this time back into relative sanity. Sure, she panicked, but even that was a step forward from her previous state, considering she did something truly surprising: She saved Zuko's life.

Aang hadn't forgiven her, but if she was trying to change, he would help. Besides, as the Avatar he couldn't judge people based on his personal feelings. It was his duty to bring balance to the world, and balance was something Azula sorely lacked. As he had meditated on previously, this was part of what he had neglected as the Avatar. Saving the world didn't leave much time for this.

"Greetings, princess. What is your concern?"

She took a bit of comfort in the impersonal tone he used. She knew he hated her personally, so any emotion in his voice was sure to be negative. She didn't want to deal with his feelings in addition to her own mental state. The way he addressed her as princess indicated that he still saw her as such, even under Zuko's rule. Good or evil, she was proud of who she was. After all, she was one of the most accomplished firebenders in the world, and one of only two people who could bend lightning. Well, she did currently have problems with fire, but that was just temporary.

"Something is wrong with me."

It took a lot out of her to admit that to someone who saw her as an enemy. Her dignity may have taken several crashes the last part of her life, but she was still trying to maintain what was left. Seeing that the Avatar did nothing to discourage her from continuing, she did so.

"Are you aware of what happened during the Agni Kai with my brother?"

Thinking about the duel now with a calm and collected mind made her feel a small bit of respect for Zuko that she hadn't felt before. He was still not as good as she was, but he did give her a good match. He had almost caught up with her in terms of skill. As Aang nodded at her question, she made a mental note to practise more. She couldn't let her brother surpass her. Knowing she had little chance of becoming the Fire Lord herself, she was determined to become the greatest firebender in the world.

"I saved him because he still cared about me and I did not want him to die. But," she paused, trying to find the right words. It wasn't something she understood herself, and here she was explaining it to someone else. It was also one of the things she'd kept hidden from Zuko, since she preferred that he thought of her as at least capable of doing good. "I do not feel it was the right choice. I have many times been told it was the right thing to do, but I do not feel that. I could have killed the waterbender and remained Fire Lord. That would have served me better, after all."

Aang twitched a little when she spoke about killed Katara, in particular as the tone of her voice didn't change at all, just as if she spoke about what to have for dinner the next week. But at the same time, he realised that it was also the problem Azula had. He had suspicions about it, but she more or less confirmed it now.

"Do you know what morals are?"

The question sounded as if it was asked to a small child who still had a lot to learn about the world, and she would have felt insulted, since she did indeed know what it was. However, she did also understand the true nature of the question, based on how he pronounced "know". She was also well aware that even though he was biologically just a twelve years old child, he had the wisdom many times that age.

"I do not know what it feels like."

That explained a lot about why Azula had become what she was. It didn't excuse or redeem her, but it brought understanding to her behaviour. Without a moral compass to guide her, any actions that benefited herself would be acceptable. What he couldn't know was if it was a symptom of her upbringing, or just a part of her blood. He rose to his feet, walked over and knelt down just before her.

"Close your eyes, relax, and don't resist."

His instructions were calming to her. He would help her. She didn't understand how, but something in his voice made her trust him, at least for the moment. After taking a deep breath to mentally prepare herself, she closed her eyes and bowed her head slightly forward. One hand was placed on her forehead, and another above her heart. Through her eyelids she could see a blue light shine up in front of her, so bright she felt she had to cover her eyes with her hands, but managed to restrain herself from doing so.

The following sensation was like no other she'd ever experienced before. Her spirit was connected to the Avatar's, and she could feel him looking right at her soul. For a moment she tried to shy away, but his words rang again, helping her maintain her focus. However, somehow she knew he wasn't actually doing anything. She thought he would mend her mind with this technique, but all he was doing was examining her. Her hope diminished a little, but she knew there were other paths she could take. There had to be. Distracted by her thoughts, she didn't realise he was done until he spoke up again.

"I can't help you. Your mind is damaged beyond what I can bend. I can't see exactly what's wrong, but there is a grave disturbance in the flow of energy close to your heart. I believe this is what blocks your conscience. You can open this, but only if you make an effort to. It will be hard, and it is something you have to do on your own. I know you can care about someone, but you need to open your heart to feel real empathy; to feel what they feel. Do this, and you'll be on your way to your goal."

She pondered his words. There wasn't anything to it that was actually new to her, if the reference to her energy meant what she thought it did, as she had spent a considerable amount of time thinking about it. It did confirm both what she feared, and what she hoped, so the time spent to meet him hadn't been wasted. However, there was something else just outside her grasp that was new.

"I'm sorry, Azula, but I can't help you more than that."

Of course. His voice had changed. He spoke to her as Aang, not as the Avatar. But there were no negative emotions in his tone as she had feared. Rather, he genuinely seemed to want to help her, personally. It was comforting, in a way, but it also weirded her out, since he wasn't one person she was actually comfortable receiving those kinds of feelings from. Still, she decided to let him know she understood.

"It is enough. I know where to begin. Thank you for your counsel, Aang."

As she rose to her feet, he waved at her to stop. She raised an eyebrow at him, but remained silent.

"I do have a favour to ask of you, Azula. I still need to master firebending, and Zuko is too busy to continue training me." The question was left silent, but it was obvious enough to both of them.

"You do not trust me enough to let me teach you. I am sure you can find other masters to teach you." She was all too aware that lack of trust would hinder the learning process.

"How many do you know who can bend lightning?"

Putting a finger to her chin, she considered who could teach him that. "Uncle Iroh would be the best choice. He may be lazy and rather silly, but he does know more than almost anyone about it, and judging by Zuzu's progress, he is a good teacher."

"He's retired and prefers to not teach any bending now that the war is over. I promised not to ask him until I have no other options."

"The only one I know who was capable of lightningbending was my father, then. I do not think Jeong Jeong can, since it does not suit his style."

"After I beat Ozai, he can't bend any more."

"Oh." The new information made her pause and lower her gaze for a moment. "I didn't know he was still alive."

"Didn't Zuko tell you about that?"

"I did not ask." It was no longer important to her, so she focused on the matter on hand instead. "Well, both he and my advisors are capable of teaching it. Li and Lo were the ones who taught me most I know about it, in fact, and they are not even benders. I can see why you do not want to ask them, though."

"So, will you teach me?"

"No. You know I have things I need to deal with." She wasn't particularly keen on delaying her mission more than she had to. She also wasn't that eager to remain in the Avatar's presence when he was like this.

"It's okay if you think you're not as good of a teacher as Zuko."

That stopped her cold. It insulted her skills, but it was also blatantly obvious that it was just to bait her into training him, as the Avatar wasn't one to insult people, even her. She didn't really want to teach him, but she understood that it would also help her learn more. It was one of those things Piandao had said: "You can learn a lot from your teachers, and even more from your peers, but most of all, from your students."

"Right now, I'm having trouble with my firebending. Zuko told me that he had the same problem, but got help with that." It took her a second to realise what she had admitted, and it made her aware of she was slipping.

"Yes, we were trained by some old masters of firebending."

She nodded automatically in response, still somewhat distracted by her thoughts. "He told me about the masters."

"So you know about the d..."

"Wait." She took a deep breath, then sighed. Lying came so naturally to her, but she had to stop somewhere. "He didn't tell me. I don't want to drag it out of you with lies and half-truths. It's not what I'm here for, and I know you promised not to tell anyone. If I am going to teach you, you will have to trust me more, and being my old self won't help with that." This was the most reasonable path for her to take, wasn't it?

"So you will teach me?" His forward tone and overall happiness made her take a step back.

"Yes, despite that you tried to bait me." She gave him a warning glance to emphasise that he should not dare to mention that she had actually taken the bait. Feeling manipulated wasn't something she was used to, but at the same time, there was a slight bit of grudging respect swelling for the Avatar for having accomplished that feat. Yet, it could prove beneficial for her as despite her feelings for him and his amicability, he _was_ trying to help. "I will not teach you now, though. I have a few matters I need to deal with first."

"Very well." Aang bowed to her, although she didn't respond to it. Instead, she backed off, and started to prepare her balloon for take-off.

"I need to be leaving now."

"But it's getting dark. Do you want to travel at night?"

"No, but I have no choice."

True to her word, she was soon off and heading south again. What she hadn't mentioned was the reasons she left. For some reason, his friendliness had just creeped her out. It was unlike her to just flee as she had, but she simply couldn't stay any more. How could he be so nice to her despite everything she'd done? She'd even _killed_ him before. He got too close to her, and that wasn't something she could accept just yet.

She slept uneasily that night on the balloon, while it drifted in what she hoped was the right direction. At least it was away from Aang. Hopefully the messenger hawks would warn her if anything dangerous came up.

Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M

Author's notes:

Thus ends the third chapter of the story. I believe Aang would be rather friendly, despite their previous interactions. He's rather forgiving, but even more willing to help, even enemies and where help isn't wanted. It was fun to write Azula as uncomfortable to his positive attitude towards her, but it wasn't something I had planned. It just happened.

Something I enjoy is showing that Azula is a good manipulator without having her manipulate anyone, simply by having her realise when someone else is trying to manipulate her. Both Aang and Zuko do it, which is one reason they might be a little friendlier than they would otherwise. Let me know how it works out.

Piandao's quote is one I've heard from several sources, including myself, but I don't know if there's anyone specific to attribute it to.

/ Another Duck


	4. Old Masters

The Story of the Moral

An Azula-centric fanfic.

Disclaimer: The music of Avatar was created by Jeremy Zuckerman and Benjamin Whynn.

Author's notes:

No one has so far solved the new string of letters. It's more difficult now, although I can give a hint to the meaning of it in the next chapter.

Now, if you want to review once you've read the chapter, I'm going to give you a simple exercise: Write down the best and the worst part of the chapter. It can be a quote, an event, or anything you wish. Naturally, you can write more than that, since long and detailed reviews are fun, especially if they give me advice, or something to talk about. If you want a response, sign in before you review.

/ Another Duck

Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M

Old Masters

Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M

There was a knock on the door to Piandao's palace. In short time, Fat, the butler of the palace, opened it. A girl he was most familiar with stood alone in front of him. Behind her was a slightly demolished war balloon.

"Greetings. I wish to speak with Master Piandao."

"The master is currently entertaining a guest."

Azula smiled at that. She had hoped Iroh was still visiting. "Would that be my uncle, Iroh?"

"You are correct, princess."

"That is excellent. Lead me to them."

"Very well. Follow me." As soon as they began walking, he started talking again. "I noticed that your balloon was damaged. Do you want it repaired?"

While her balloon had brought with it a lot of trouble, she was in a rather good mood. A long journey to Ba Sing Se was not something she had looked forward to, so she was glad to have avoided that. She was used to keeping her emotions in check, but with her recent effort to change, displaying some of them, especially the positive ones, would probably help her.

"Despite the damage, it is in working condition, but I would appreciate if you could make it a little more serviceable. It is hard to control it properly. I would be pleased if you could feed my hawks as well."

He simply nodded as they made their way towards where Piandao was. They arrived at a finely decorated Pai Sho table currently covered with round tiles. Two older men sat on opposite sides of it. "Master, Princess Azula is here to see you."

Looking up to see it was indeed who Fat said it was, Piandao rose up and bowed formally to her. "Greetings, princess. Are you here to receive further training? You were always one of my favourite students."

"Do not insult my intelligence, Piandao." Her words may have been unfriendly, but her tone was simply conversational, and still held a little of the relief she felt. "I know you thought me too arrogant to teach. You were right, of course, but that is not why I am here now." She turned towards the other man, who sat observing her with a calculating look. "Uncle Iroh, I came here to see you. I need your help."

"That's not something I have heard before. Sit down, and I will make you some tea."

Same old Iroh, she thought as she followed his instructions, trying to think about what to say. As soon as he had left the room, Piandao started talking.

"You were arrogant, yes, but you were also a good student. You paid attention, and learned quickly."

He spoke honestly, so she had to accept that. She was well aware that people generally didn't like her, for good reasons, but she had also been a fast learner, which made for very little frustration among her teachers. "You were a good tutor."

The compliment wasn't expected, but welcomed nonetheless. "You are less arrogant now. What changed?"

"Can I trust that this does not leave the room?"

"Of course."

It put her at ease. He'd always been professional in his dealings with her, and that included a certain level of confidentiality. "Honestly, I am not sure what changed. My brother ended the war, and I have no intention to start it again, or take his position. I am trying to find my place in all this, since by all rights, I should be imprisoned now. It is a little humbling, actually."

"So I've noticed. You are more open than you used to."

She was all too aware of how open she was. After all, she tried hard speak about her feelings, even if she wasn't completely comfortable with it. It helped that Piandao was one of very few people who held no grudges against her. It made it easier to avoid her usual lies and façades. She hoped Iroh fell into the same category as the swords master, or that was at least what she was telling herself.

"Maybe, but right now I am forcing it. It does not come naturally, but I do not want to be as I was. Only ruin was ahead of me then. It is actually why I am here now. Uncle Iroh managed to get my brother to grow up and become an independent individual. I have come to realise I only held an illusion of that."

At that moment, Iroh returned with a tray balancing three cups and a teapot. Setting it down on the table and serving the three of them, he sat down himself.

Azula finished her explanation. "Once the threads of the people I depended on were cut, I just could not handle it any more. The pressure became too great."

"You shouldn't sell yourself short. You were simply handed too much when you weren't prepared for it. A lesser person would go insane."

It hurt more when someone else said it than herself. She just looked down into her tea for a few moments to gather herself, then gave Piandao a meaningful glance.

"I see. You still recovered, and from the looks of it, rather quickly at that."

"True." He was swift to correct his mistake without back-pedalling, so she didn't feel insulted by it. He wasn't completely right, though. Her mind still felt a little fuzzy at times, and the thought of being betrayed again hung over her constantly. But facing her fears had been important in her training as a firebender and as a future Fire Lord, and this was just another type of fear. She could handle it. She had to.

Taking some time to think, she took a sip of the tea. She didn't quite recognise the flavour, but it was subtle and just a little bit bitter. In a way, it reminded her of herself. She was lost, and couldn't quite pick out where she was headed. Her life had been completely destroyed, but despite the sorry mess it was in, she actually looked forward to rebuilding it. She'd always enjoyed challenges.

"Did you pick out this tea especially for me?" she asked Iroh.

"I thought it would be fitting. Do you like it?"

She smiled in appreciation. "I do." They sat in silence for a while, enjoying their drinks. When she had collected enough courage, she decided to tackle the big issue she had come for. "What can you tell me about morals?"

"I can teach you about it until the day I die. If you want to stay around, I can see what I can help you with."

"I've not planned on staying here. Zuzu gave me a few things to do for him. However, I wanted to listen to your advice."

"It took me a long time to get your brother on the right path. What makes you think you can learn it in a shorter time?"

She looked him evenly in the eyes. "I do not have an abusive sister who plots against me every step on the road."

"You make a good point, Azula. Where do you want to start?"

"I know what morals are. That's not what I need help with. I need to connect with my own moral compass, and feel my way to right and wrong."

Iroh considered what he could aid her with. Zuko could tell right from wrong, but he often placed his loyalty to the Fire Nation ahead of it. More significantly, he also used to look for his father's approval, and held that higher than any other goal. Azula used to do the same thing, even if it wasn't as apparent since she actually was in Ozai's favour. Still, what Iroh had gathered from the royal guards was that as soon as the former Fire Lord displayed any doubt about Azula, she wavered.

However, Azula would always do what favoured her progress, and never listen to her heart. Where Zuko would shy away from using immoral methods, Azula employed them liberally to make people fear her. Zuko had switched sides when he realised his father was just wrong for him to follow. His sister followed the way of power when she had no other direction. Like her brother, she also turned when she realised her current path was wrong for her, but for a different reason. Zuko made a moral choice, so he could change the world for the better, while Azula made the choice for personal reasons, as she understood that the consequences of her path only led to madness.

"Logic will help you understand, but it won't help you feel. This is also the difference between you and Zuko. You follow what works in practise, while he follows his heart. You need to work on listening to your heart."

"My heart is silent most of the time. The Avatar told me I was simply unable to feel the difference between right and wrong. He also told me to listen to my heart, but I don't hear anything."

"Is there anyone you care about?" interjected Piandao.

She nodded. "Not many people, but I do care about my brother, Ty Lee, and Mai. There are more people I respect, like the Avatar, and the waterbender, Katara, but that's not the same thing. I still care about myself more than any of them."

"No, it's not the same, but it fosters the right emotions."

"Have you spoken with your friends lately?" asked Iroh.

"Zuzu and Mai were home at the palace, but I heard Ty Lee is on Kyoshi Island. That's where I'm heading next. After that, I'm going to the Southern Water Tribe on behalf of the Fire Nation. I also want to speak with Katara. I think she's the only one who knows what happened during my Agni Kai with Zuzu."

"That is a good incentive. You should speak with the people you have wronged. It may get ugly, and it will be hard, but it will help you."

"How will speaking with the people I have wronged help me?"

"If you learn how other people see you when you do things they consider wrong, you will have an easier time relating to how your actions relate to morality."

It took her a while of thinking before she reached a conclusion. "That doesn't make a lot of sense."

"You don't always see the light at the end of the tunnel, but if you just keep moving you will come to a better place."

His explanation didn't exactly help. "Now I know why Zuzu thinks of your advices as he does."

The trio kept talking for the rest of the evening. It made Azula feel just a little bit more normal. She had feared Iroh would still hate her, but she correctly presumed him to be at least as willing to help as the Avatar. They were family, after all, even if she had more or less rejected that in the past.

Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M

She decided to leave early in the morning. Iroh was presumably still asleep, but Piandao was wide awake and performing a morning exercise with a sword. There was something odd about it, though. It was a black sword. She was sure she had seen a similar sword before, but couldn't quite place it.

"That's quite an unusual blade you've got there, Piandao," she called to him.

"It is. It belongs to one of my students. My most unusual student, and the most worthy."

Now it clicked. She reached into her pack and soon found a small, circular object. It was something she had found back on the Boiling Rock. Someone had dropped it there, and she had for one reason or another chosen to keep it.

"Let's trade. The sword, for this little thing." She threw the object to him, which he easily caught. The shock on his face was easy to read.

"You know more than you let on, princess." As always, he was still fast on the recovery.

"Of course," she said smugly. "That's what keeps me on top of things. I've known about your little club for quite a while. I had planned on acting on it, but that's where I got... distracted a bit. I suppose we both can consider ourselves lucky for that."

"Perhaps so. However, do you know who is the owner of this sword?"

"Unless there's another black sword out there, he's a Water Tribesman named Sokka. Katara's brother. One of the Avatar's friends. I was unaware that you taught people outside our nation, but it doesn't surprise me. You are a White Lotus, after all."

"You're going to meet him on your journey. Bring the sword to him, but you should also bring this tile." Throwing it back to her, he explained, "When he left this place before, I gave him that exact tile. Did you know that?"

"That I didn't know. I just found it on the Boiling Rock, lying on the ground. Your and uncle Iroh's secret is safe with me."

"For once, I think I can actually trust you." He was giving her an odd smile as he walked up to her. She took the now sheathed sword from his outstretched hand and fastened it to her waist.

"It's just as important for a master to trust his student as the reverse. I think that's the most valuable lesson I've learned from you. Trust has always been hard for me." She straightened up, then bowed to him with a proper Fire Nation salute. "Thank you, Master Piandao."

He returned the gesture. "Thank you as well, Princess Azula."

Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M

Author's notes:

Thus ends the fourth chapter of the story. For some reason, I can imagine Iroh's voice much easier than any other character's. It makes his lines a little easier to write, as I don't really have to think about it. I don't know if Azula would know about the White Lotus, but I wouldn't put it past her. I just thought it suited the story. I also imagine she's one of Piandao's students, along with Zuko. I really don't think it's unreasonable to assume that a master such as him has taught the royal family.

/ Another Duck


	5. Older Master

The Story of the Moral

An Azula-centric fanfic.

Disclaimer: The voices of Azula, Kya, the actress of Kya's daughter in "The Boy in the Iceberg", and the servant Azula scolded in the finale were created by Grey DeLisle.

Author's notes:

This chapter is slightly later than usual since I wanted to make a few late changes to it, although then I realised it didn't actually make it better. There are some things I don't like, but I'm overall happy about it.

Considering the chapter, I'm going to give you a hint on the divider letter puzzle: The phrase is the original title of this chapter, and appears in the chapter as well. Also, the letters are in correct order. You figure out what that means.

/ Another Duck

Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M

Older Master

Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M

"Oh, great, fog," Azula spoke aloud. High up in the air, a dense mist obscured everything she could see. It wasn't enough that she was travelling at night, there had to be absolutely no chance for her to see anything at all. Grumbling at her predicament, she decided to get something to eat. This really wasn't going along her plans. Her two hawks, on the other hand, were sleeping comfortably.

She hadn't managed to get any sleep as some annoying voice insisted on waking her up and urging her on the second she closed her eyes. Eventually, afraid of going insane again, she had relented and took off in the middle of the deep night, despite the added danger. Hearing voices hadn't been good for her previously.

It hadn't taken long until the burner decided to stop working properly, so she couldn't even control where she was heading. How long time passed, she didn't know. Where she was, she couldn't tell. The only thing she did know was that she was slowly slipping into insanity from the lack of anything discernible at all. Ironically, she reflected, the madness was more familiar to her than anything else in the situation. It wasn't a soothing familiarity.

Bump.

It took her a while to register it in her tired state, but she had actually landed. The touch down was much gentler than she'd ever managed before, ironically enough when she wasn't controlling the craft. The first thing she noticed as she climbed out was that the rocky ground was carved in intricate patterns. The design suggested something religious. Somehow she had randomly landed in the middle of a temple? Now she was sure she was going insane.

When she turned around she didn't see the red balloon any more. Panicked, she went in the direction she thought it was, but saw nothing. As she had before, she tried to summon a flame in her hand, but only a tiny spark came. However, the small flash did reveal something in the darkness. She walked closer to it, and it turned out to be a steep stairway.

Curiosity displacing her panic, she went up the stony steps. It was a surprisingly long walk, and at the top the grey mist was just a little bit less oppressing, being almost white. She could see that she was standing at one end of a large platform, but couldn't see any exits from it. Walking straight ahead, she came to an edge as she had expected. There was no way of telling how far down it was from there, other than that she was aware of how high she had climbed.

The distressful feeling of paranoia washed over her as her interest for the unknown faded. Somehow it was as if a couple of eyes were observing her. It had to be paranoia, as she couldn't actually be watched now, could she? The only sounds came from the wind and distant, nocturnal animals, and the visibility wasn't great either. Nothing around her, so there was nothing to worry about. Right?

She sat down, closed her eyes, and concentrated. She was all alone, and there were no menacing creatures who were watching her. She was not going crazy, and she was only a little paranoid, temporarily. She was just exhausted, that was it. Her mind played tricks on her because she hadn't gotten any sleep.

"Why have you come here?" Her ears couldn't pinpoint the location as the voice boomed all over the creepy place, almost as if her mind played tricks on her. Wait, she had just determined that wasn't happening, so that wasn't it, was it? The deep voice was also familiar. It was the same voice that had woken her up multiple times previously.

She sighed. She really was going insane, being stalked by illusions. "You brought me here. If it wasn't for you, I would be sleeping now." It really wasn't a smart thing to argue with her own rampaging imagination, but she was too tired to care anymore. Besides, it did take her mind off the creepiness of the situation, or at least a little.

"I have not met you before. I have met your brother and the Avatar, but not you. You are cared for by the former, and touched by the latter."

"I know," she automatically replied.

"You have left the reign of fire led by Sozin, the dragonslayer."

"Yes." Why was the voice in her head talking about things she already knew? Probably because her mind couldn't tell her anything she didn't already know. Yes, that had to be it.

"Your brother thinks of you as the Blue Dragon."

Her eyebrows rose, although her eyes remained closed. "I didn't know that." Odd. Where did that come from?

"You are a wielder of the Blue Flame."

To have someone point it out now when she had lost the ability made her slump. "No, not anymore. I haven't managed to bend any flames since I went insane. My lightningbending is more powerful than ever, but the flames just won't come."

"You lost your control when you lost your goal to become the new Fire Lord. With no will to rule, you can't rule fire."

That made sense, actually. It wasn't her will to control fire that helped her bend as she had thought. She had wanted to control fire as it was a necessary tool to rise in power. Even if she still had the will to bend fire, the original reason for it was no longer there. She had to renew herself, but how? Just wanting to bend apparently didn't cut it. No matter how much she ached to regain control over the burning element, and no matter how much she considered it a part of herself.

"I can help you bend fire again."

A voice in her head wanted to help her? It was so funny she almost wanted to laugh, but the situation was just too sad for that. "You're just a voice in my head. You can't help me."

"I'm not a voice in your head. I'm right in front of you."

A chill went up her spine and froze it solid. Slowly she opened her eyes to look right into the face of a huge, blue dragon. In panic, she jumped back, but fell on her behind, and before she could crawl further back, the dragon was in her face again.

"D-d-drag-dragons d-don't ex-exist any-m-more. Y-you can't be re-real. Th-this is j-just my imagination."

It answered by blowing fire out of its nostrils. A flaming ring of a familiar blue surrounded her quickly. Feeling the heat of it she realised it had to be for real. Strangely enough, that insight gave her a comfort she had lacked, as it meant she wasn't going insane. It hadn't been a delusion. Ironically, the same comfort also reduced some of her fear. This gave her back her capability to speak normally, albeit with a rather small voice.

"Okay, you do exist."

"Are you ready to be judged?"

"What? No! I'm not ready yet!" This wasn't supposed to happen! She was still young, and had plans to change her life before any kind of sentence was to be placed on her. "I have a lot of things I need to do before I'm judged. I'm not ready!"

"Are you afraid to die, child?"

"No!" Her own panicked answer opened her eyes even wider. "I'm not afraid to die," she stated again, this time to herself. The realisation brought her out of the panic she was in. If she wasn't afraid to die, she shouldn't be afraid to be killed, right? That made sense, something she'd lacked in any significant quantities lately. "I'm not afraid to die," she told the dragon as logic started to rule her mind again. "It's reasonable to assume that I deserve to die, so that doesn't scare me much. But I am afraid to be judged. I don't want to be judged for who I was; I want to be judged for who I want to become, and I need time to accomplish that."

"So be it. Your judgement shall come to you when you are ready. Now, close your eyes and relax."

Sensing no hostility from the beast, she gave a little smile as she rose up to sit straight and placed her legs in a lotus position. "I recognise those words." Said recognition also allowed her to follow the advice, and she started breathing calmly.

"The flames you seek can be found in harmony."

"In harmony, hmm?" Immediately there was one thing that sprung to mind. "Lightningbending requires harmony. Lack of empathy is surprisingly helpful with that." She demonstrated by pulling two fingers through the air in a small arc, causing the energy to split apart and reveal a blue trace of electricity. Instead of shooting it away, she clenched her fist and let the current dissipate into her body, making her tingle all over. The tensing of her muscles that the action caused reminded her of something her connection to lightning had taught her. "We all have lightning within us. It controls our muscles, our minds, and our hearts."

A memory washed over her. She had her hands on a body, and arcs of lightning jumped between them. She felt the still body suddenly jerk from the energy, and then the soft buzz of electricity flowing naturally throughout the person.

Of course, that was it. "Lightning is life," Azula concluded. "If both lightning and fire can be found in harmony, they're different parts of the same. They're different parts of life. If fire is life, then..." she trailed off, placing her palms against each other in front of her. After a while, she separated them, and a blue, electric arc danced between her hands. Concentrating a little more, it sparked into a twitching, blue flame that soon grew stable and calm. "I want to _live_. I want to become the greatest firebender in history." Her smile widened in genuine lust for life that spread all the way to her wide-open eyes.

"Rise, Azula, the Blue Dragon! Rise, to a new dawn!" The words echoed in her mind, heart, and far outside the boundaries of the solitary temple.

As she got to her feet, the dragon flew straight up through the white mist. She was momentarily awed by the serpentine body that didn't seem to end, but she soon collected herself and summoned flames in her hands for the first time in much too long. Crouching briefly down, she ignited the floor she was standing on before leaping high up in the air. The blue jets on her hands and feet carried her further, making her ascend the skies and break through the fog.

The sun of a new day greeted her as the dragon circled around her. She felt complete again.

"You sure do pull out all the stops for the drama," she remarked wryly.

"Blue dragon like Blue Dragon."

The blue dragon was calling her Blue Dragon. That was awesome. As she took in the sights, she saw something flying away from them in the far distance.

"Go there. You will find that your balloon is working properly now."

"I wonder why I'm not surprised at that."

The dragon simply winked at her, before descending out of sight. It was the last she saw of it.

Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M

Author's notes:

Thus ends the fifth chapter of the story. I wanted this chapter to be slightly longer, but it just wanted to stay this short. Much like these notes.

/ Another Duck


	6. Somewhere She Does Not Belong

The Story of the Moral

An Azula-centric fanfic.

Disclaimer: A human's terminal velocity is between 200 km/h and 1000 km/h, depending on how she falls, and the density of the air.

Author's notes:

First I must apologise for the delay on this chapter. It has nothing to do with not being able to write, though, but more about something I didn't plan in my schedule. Anyhow, I think I'll throw up an extra chapter next week or so, to compensate. Or if you don't want that, tell me in your reviews.

By the way mT started his review, I almost thought he'd catch the divider code. All the words are there, just not in the right order...

/ Another Duck

Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M

Somewhere She Does Not Belong

Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M

Finally back on track again, Azula headed towards where she had seen something fly, as the dragon had suggested. This time, she wouldn't have to worry about the fuel for the balloon, as she could provide it herself. However, the speed had been boring to her now that there were other options, so she had taken to boosting it with her own power. It was very tiring, and she knew she couldn't keep doing so for any significant distances, but it was also good endurance training, which she needed.

She didn't quite manage to hold out till her goal, but she did get close enough to see it. A tall mountain rose through the low clouds. On it, she could spot buildings, and more importantly, several aircraft of various designs. It looked similar to the Northern Air Temple, but it couldn't be that. She wasn't that far off course.

When she approached, she was joined by a few of the gliders. Some were just curious about the visitor, as they rarely had those at this unfrequented part of the world. Others recognised her.

It didn't take them long to decide she was a threat, and with their much more agile crafts, it was an easy task to cut a hole in the balloon and let it crash. The messenger hawks abandoned ship, and Azula thought that a wise choice. Grabbing her pack, she leapt out with the intent to slow her fall enough to land safely.

However, as she rapidly approached the rocks below her, she found that she had spent too much energy while trying to travel faster. Her landing was rough. She had managed to slow down enough so her legs didn't break at the impact, but her head struck a boulder, knocking her unconscious.

Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M

When Azula awoke, she found she could only see through one eye. She tried to reach up to feel what was wrong, but something stopped her. Something that rattled. Chains went around her lower body, pinning her arms to it. She didn't know what clothes she was wearing, but they had removed her shoulder armour. Her head hurt like nothing else, but otherwise she was feeling all right. Or at least, that's what she thought, as the pain was rather distracting.

"Is anyone here?"

There was no answer for a while, but eventually soft steps were heard. A small boy, several years younger than her, entered the room.

"Hello," she greeted. By the way he carried himself, it was apparent he had nothing to do with her current situation, so she decided to try to start off on a friendly note. At the same time, the ache made her want to get to the point quickly. Luckily, he seemed to have the same idea.

"Hello. How do you feel?"

"Are you the one who's taking care of me?"

"Yes. I'm Kyouya."

"I'm Azula. My head hurts. What happened?"

"You hit your head when you fell. I don't think you broke anything, but you got a gash on your temple. It was bleeding pretty badly, but I managed to get it to stop."

"Will it leave a scar?" The prospect of a permanent mark didn't frighten her, as she had given it some serious thought after she'd seen her brother get a far worse scar than she thought this would give, but at the same time, it didn't fit her vision of perfection.

"I don't know. I'm not very old, but I want to be a healer when I grow up. I'm pretty good at taking care of people, so don't worry."

It didn't quite make Azula want to relax, but she had little choice in the matter. On the other hand, someone was trying to take care of her, so it couldn't be that bad, could it?

"Just be still. I'm going to change the bandage."

He lifted her head and put a folded towel under her neck to give himself better access. A few seconds later he had removed the wrapping completely, and was just pressing gently on the bandage with his hand. She felt him dab the wound a few times with a cool, wet cloth, and she had to re-evaluate her previous opinion of him.

His skill was actually quite decent. He still had to have a lot to learn, and this wasn't a complicated wound, but he didn't do anything that made her feel any pain at all. Well, any more pain, in any case. She'd experienced what it could feel like at the slightest mistake before, with her own, trained healers. Even as a prodigy, she did get injured quite a lot while practising. Perfection had its cost.

"It doesn't bleed any more, and it looks good. How does it feel?"

Careful not to disturb anything, she opened her eye and blinked a few times. There was no swelling she noticed affecting her eye movement, but she would probably do best to avoid any grimaces involving that part of her face.

"I can feel that it hasn't healed, and it's probably a little swollen, but other than that, I just have a headache."

"You did hit your head hard, after all. You should probably stay in bed for a day or two."

"Do I have a choice?" It wasn't something that upset her. Resting for a while did sound nice. She still felt tired, and her head didn't help matters either. It also wasn't like she had a tight schedule to keep, so spending an extra day or two couldn't hurt.

"I'm not allowed to release you. I don't like keeping you like this, but the adults would get mad at me if I let you go. You don't look like a bad person, though. Are you?"

Ah, the innocence of youth. She had to smile at that. "I was a bad person, but I'm trying to be good now. The people here know of me only as a bad person."

"Are you mad at them?"

"No, I'm not." Contrary to her last experience with the dragon, she was feeling very reasonable. Things made sense to her again, and it was quite relaxing. "They do what they think will protect your people."

"I should go now. They don't want me to talk with you."

"Before you leave, could you give me some water?"

"Okay." He took a ladle and scooped up some fresh water from a wooden bucket. As he tilted it to her mouth, she drank. It wasn't the most dignified way to drink, but she took what she could get. It was also very refreshing, since it had been sometime since she had last taken a sip.

"I need some rest now." As she closed her eyes, she heard him walk quietly out again. Even with her head hurting, it didn't take her long to fall asleep.

Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M

A bucket of water woke her up in an instant. In the same instant, she was thrown down from the bed she was lying on, and she had just enough presence of mind to soften her fall with her forehead to avoid crushing her nose or aggravating the injury she already had. As her head was swimming among miniature flying sky bison someone pulled her up and yelled at her. It wasn't anything she actually heard, though. She waited until she thought they had stopped talking.

"Can you repeat that?"

Someone pushed her harshly against a wall and held her there. It appeared to be a middle-aged man, but her vision was still a little blurry. "You think you're so high and mighty so you can just choose when to pay attention, don't you?"

"No, I just can't hear anything when my head is ringing." She was truthful, but at the same time, she knew it probably wasn't the best thing to say. However, she wasn't feeling like being cooperative at the moment.

"Funny little girl. I know who you are, and you're going to pay for what you've done. We'll see how spunky you are after a few days."

They left her alone for the rest of the day, so she spent the time getting some more rest. She couldn't believe how exhausted she had been, but the previous days with little sleep probably wore her down more than she realised.

Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M

It was night when she woke up next. It suited her just fine, as she no longer planned on staying there. She wanted to talk with her enemies, sure, but only those who were actually willing to talk without attacking her on sight.

Now that she actually tried, she found that they had made a poor job of tying her up, even if they did so with chains. With some fidgeting, she managed to get her hands free enough to reach the lowest part of her restraints. A small, concentrated flame was all it took to soften the metal enough to pull it loose. In short time, she had freed herself completely.

She found her pack and armour just outside the door, but no guards. Briefly wondering why she had bothered taking the plated garment with her in times of peace, she pulled it on, just preferring the familiarity of it. Her pack on her back where it belonged, she made her way out of the caves, or at least where she thought out was.

A closed door met her, and she could see a few stars out through the barred window in it. Sneaking up to it, she found she was rather high up on the mountain, and a couple of guards. Well, they probably preferred to stay outdoors rather than in the dark cave. There were a few more objects of interest. Her two messenger hawks were perched on a nearby railing, and there was a glider that looked ready enough to fly.

The plan was simple: Just run out, knock out the guards, call the messenger hawks, and steal the glider. The execution of the plan was actually almost as simple. She managed to catch one of the men unprepared, and got rid of him just as the other turned to her. Instead of charging her, as was surprisingly common, he yelled for help. A well-placed jab ended the shout, and gave her some time before reinforcement arrived.

She had time to secure her pack to the glider before anyone showed up. Lifting it up, she found it rather heavy, and wondered how it could actually fly, but seeing as she knew the people living here used it as such, she had no doubts it would work. Taking a running start, she leapt off the high cliff and found herself soaring between her two companions.

A glance backwards revealed that she wasn't safe just yet, as several other gliders were already on her tail. Still, they could never catch up with her. She did have one trump up her sleeve. Grinning to herself, she focused her power to her feet, and dual jets of fire launched her through the air and upwards where they couldn't follow her. They needed updrafts, but she didn't.

She soon found out it took more effort to just remain in a decent position to fly, so she wondered how the others dealt with it. Most of them most likely didn't have the physique she did, and she was getting tired in her arms and legs. Carefully looking around the aircraft, she found a few sets of straps, which she immediately hooked herself up with. Now _that_ was comfortable. She could almost sleep like that.

Once the sun rose and she got a better look of the land, she found out she wasn't actually that far from her goal, Kyoshi Island. Her travelling speed was much higher than anything she'd ever experienced before, so she estimated only a few hours left.

Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M

Author's notes:

Thus ends the sixth chapter of the story. I don't know where this chapter came from. I don't know where it actually takes place, or what landmark that told Azula where she was. It wasn't planned at all originally. There are a couple significant details in it, though. It's probably somewhat obvious to which those are, but I'll remain silent for now.

/ Another Duck


	7. The Good, the Bad, and the Loopy

The Story of the Moral

An Azula-centric fanfic.

Disclaimer: The episode, "The Beach" was written by Katie Mattila and directed by Joaquim Dos Santos.

Author's notes:

As I mentioned in the last chapter, I'll consider throwing in an extra chapter next week to compensate for the previous delay. Just tell me if you want that, or I'll keep to the regular schedule.

A little clearer on the hint I gave before on the divider: It's not rearranged. It's coded. How it's coded is up to you to figure out.

/ Another Duck

Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M

The Good, the Bad, and the Loopy

Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M

"Suki, Suki! We have a visitor!" One of the children on the island ran breathlessly into the building where the Kyoshi Warriors were practising "It's a glider!"

"Really?" The excitement from the little girl was partially reciprocated in the older one. "Do you know who it is?"

"It's someone from the Fire Nation."

"Oh."

Suki deflated a bit, but any lost air was immediately picked up and quadrupled by one of the other warriors. "From the Fire Nation?" she repeated before vanishing out through the door, leaving a spinning Suki in her wake.

Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M

Azula was unpacking her glider to find some dry clothes. She had miscalculated the wind, and ended up landing a little bit short of the shore. Luckily the pack, along with the rest of the aircraft, had escaped the water. Of course, that was at the expense of herself, as she had dumped the heaviest piece of cargo to let the glider fly the last bit to solid ground. Or sand, as the case was. She was halfway done rummaging through her equipment when she realised she wasn't alone anymore.

"Um. Hello, Azula."

That voice she recognised. It lacked the usual happiness, but it was definitely her.

"Ty Lee!" She turned around to greet her old friend. "It's good to see you."

It really was. She was one of the rare real friends Azula ever had. The acrobat was for the same reason one of the few people she had been truly relaxed around. Ty Lee, on the other hand, didn't appear relaxed at all. Confused was a better word.

"You're not mad at me?"

"I may be mad right now, but it's not at you. I can und..." The princess didn't get further than that before she was tackled almost to the ground with a hug.

"I missed you so much, Azula." As the two girls were embracing each other, the shorter one observed something. "Azula, do you know you're soaking wet?"

"Thank you for telling me. I hadn't noticed." The humour in her voice had the dryness the rest of her didn't have.

"I'm glad you're not mad any more. I was worried that you'd think I really wanted to betray you." She seemed as if she was about to continue, but for some reason, she suddenly tensed up. "Um, Azula, not to be rude or anything, but could you stop hugging me, please?"

"But you're dry," Azula protested.

"Not anymore, but that's not what I meant. My girlfriend might get jealous."

"Oh, no, please continue," a third voice cut in. It held a hard-to-define edge to it. "I like to watch."

Azula let go of her friend to look at the newcomer. It was another of the Kyoshi Warriors who stood there with her arms crossed. She had her head tilted, and an amused, sideways smile adorned her face.

Her hands on her friend's shoulders, Azula looked between the two trying to absorb the new information. "So, you," she looked at the girl she was holding, "and you," she shifted her attention to the other girl. Both nodded simultaneously. "Well, it figures." The princess shrugged. "You've got the same taste in men." Suki started to stare at her girlfriend, who grinned sheepishly. "Speaking of that, I thought you hit it off with waterboy."

This time it was Suki's turn to look embarrassed, scratching the back of her neck, but she didn't quite smile. "Yeah, well, it didn't quite work out."

An awkward silence followed till Azula broke it. "I know you don't attack me on sight because of Ty here, but is there any chance I can get a place to stay for the night?"

The leader of the Kyoshi Warriors put on an official demeanour. "Why would I give you that?"

"I don't suppose you'd do it out of the goodness of your heart?" The words were hopeful, but the tone behind them was not.

"I'm afraid I don't have much of that left over for you."

"Suki!" Ty Lee protested, but the princess waved the help away.

"It's okay. I don't want to take any short-cuts with this." She turned to Suki and matched her poise. "Very well. As the princess of the Fire Nation, I have come here to offer restitution for the damages our nation has caused you during the war. We would also like to take the opportunity to investigate if there are any possible trade agreements that can be negotiated."

Suki took a few moments to assess the situation. "Ty Lee, tell the others I will be busy the rest of the day."

"Will do. Azula, I'll check in on you later. Have fun, you two!" She gave them a hug each before running off.

"Perky as ever," Azula mused.

"She sure is," agreed Suki with a tone that made the other girl give her a curious glance. The light-hearted mood quickly disappeared to make way for business. "Grab your gear. I'll show you where you can stay. The glider should be safe here." She didn't wait for Azula to finish, who just unfastened the pack and took the little she had unpacked before Ty Lee came under her arm.

Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M

The formal meeting was over fairly quickly. Neither part was particularly interested in spending more time on it than absolutely necessary. As soon as they had signed the last document Suki sighed and gave Azula a pointed look. "Okay, why are you really here?"

"You don't believe I'm here to do business for my country?"

"You're almost as bored as I am, and even if I know this will go a long way to secure the peace between our nations, that's not why you're here."

"I did actually want to do this for the Fire Nation on this side of the war, but you're right. I have several reasons for my travels, but I don't think you're interested in most. In short, I'm trying to learn a few things my dear father neglected to teach me. Little things, like morals and compassion."

"I can see what that could do to a person."

"Yes, I've walked past many mirrors."

"Are you trying to excuse what you did?"

"Oh, no. Definitely not. Seeking forgiveness isn't something I'm ready for any time soon. However, I did want to try to apologise. I am aware that what I've done isn't exactly moral, and I do respect you, even if I haven't shown it."

Suki's head tilted slightly in suspicion. "Why do you say try?"

Azula cringed a bit, something quite unusual for her. "Because I want to actually feel sorry about it. As it is, my feelings tell me I did what I had to do because you were my enemy."

Biting her lip softly as she considered her feelings on the matter, Suki gave the other girl a neutral glance. "You know what? I sort of feel the same. I don't feel like holding a grudge, in particular in respect for Ty Lee. I'm not saying I want to be your friend and hug you, but we're no longer enemies. I still want a rematch, though."

Confusion was written all over Azula's face. "I'm not sure I understand. How can you feel the same way I do, when you have a conscience and I don't? And I didn't exactly treat you well as my captive."

"I think you do have one, but you're just not aware of it. If you didn't have one, you wouldn't have bothered to come here in the first place. As for your treatment, well, I probably made it harder than necessary on myself."

"Grinning like a cat owl isn't the best choice of action in those situations, no. I have to admire your resolve, though."

Suki gave the princess a confident smirk. "Now, if we're done here, what about that rematch?"

Azula matched her smirk. "Just name the place."

Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M

Ty Lee kept her word, and entered the place Azula stayed at. Quickly finding her old friend being put to bed by her new friend, she ran up to them.

"What happened?"

Suki turned to her, but Azula appeared to be sleeping. "I'm not sure, really. We were fighting, and then..."

"Fighting?" interrupted Ty Lee with a distressed voice. "Why were you fighting? I should never have left the two of you alone."

"Calm down, Ty. It was only a friendly sparring match."

Ty Lee examined the girls suspiciously, finding many bruises on both of them. "Friendly, huh?"

"Okay, so it got a little heated. Anyway, as I was saying, I was kicking her butt, and then she just fell over, unconscious. I hadn't touched her for a while at that point, so I have no idea what happened."

"Is she all right?"

"I am," the girl in question unexpectedly answered, startling both of them.

Concern was quickly replaced by chiding. "What were you thinking, fighting Suki like that?"

"Calm down, Ty. It was only a friendly sparring match. And keep your voice down. My head hurts."

Wide-eyed glances were traded between the two sitting girls, which confused Azula. "What?" After a while she decided she wouldn't get an answer, so she explained what she thought was wrong. "A few days ago, I ran into some trouble, and I got a concussion." She pointed to the scar she thought she still had from the balloon crash.

Ty Lee bent over to examine her closer, and found only a trace left of the scar. "If you had a scar here, it's almost healed now. I can barely see anything. It's certainly less than all the scars Suki gave you." She emphasised her words by glaring at the offender, who held up her hands in surrender.

"Hey, I just gave as I took. No real harm done."

"No, it was a good fight, what I can remember of it. But please, let me sleep now. I've travelled all day and fought Suki here, so I'm quite tired."

"Suki, go ahead. I'm going to get her wounds cleaned up a bit. I'll take care of you later."

She looked hopeful. "Promise?"

"Promise."

Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M

There wasn't really much to speak about what happened the day after. Suki kept her distance, and let the two old friends catch up a bit, until Azula decided to leave. Suki was happy, though. She did get to kick some princess butt. That wasn't something she got to do every day. She was also glad that her girlfriend was happier than usual, which said a lot. Even if it wasn't directed at her.

Z A F O Z G S V Y O F V W I Z T L M

Author's notes:

Thus ends the seventh chapter of the story. This was the most fun chapter to write so far. I could've added a lot of innuendo, but I restrained myself. Suki and Ty Lee just happened, probably as a result of some of said innuendo. It was one of those unplanned events that just ended up making the story so much better. Both of them are fun to write, and Suki is my third favourite character. I'm not quite happy with the ending, though, but I'm not sure what to do with it either.

/ Another Duck


	8. Slippery Pride

The Story of the Moral

An Azula-centric fanfic.

Disclaimer: The Antarctic is the largest desert in the real world.

Author's notes:

This chapter is as promised published half a week early, but I'll still continue with the regular once-per-week schedule after the next one. I think, anyway.

A big gratulations to mT for finally solving the cipher! Well done! Also, do get an account, so I can respond to your reviews. Well, if you want any replies, that is.

The next one is a spoiler, and you'll understand why if you solve it, so don't write the answer in a review (I do take messages or emails). You can probably say _how_ you solved it, though. In my opinion, it's comparatively easy, but you never know.

That said, if you don't want to be spoiled, don't try to solve it.

/ Another Duck

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Slippery Pride

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Sokka saw something he didn't see every day. Or at least, not since he stopped travelling with Aang. It was a glider. At first, he hoped it was Aang, but he quickly realised that he most likely would've brought Appa, and more importantly, Aang had much better control than what he saw now. Whoever it was wobbled all over the sky. Granted, Sokka knew that once you left the open ocean and flew in over the icy continent the winds were very unpredictable, so it wasn't really unexpected either. That's also why most sane people went by boat.

When the flier came a little bit closer, he identified the pilot as someone from the Fire Nation, and probably female, although the armour made it hard to see. She obviously noticed him, as she turned slightly towards his direction. That proved to be a bad idea.

Sokka watched in horror as she spiralled out of control, straight into an iceberg. She jumped off moments before the crash, which totalled the aircraft, and hit the mountainside in an only slightly less dangerous velocity. As she tumbled down he could see she wasn't hurt, at least not very much, since she was actively trying to stop her decent.

He knew from experience, though, that between the steep slope and the slippery ice, it was virtually impossible to stop, and someone from the Fire Nation simply didn't have the experience to make a difference. Sure enough, she only managed to make herself bounce higher, which Sokka, even though it was a bit mean, thought looked rather funny. Estimating where she'd end up, he quickly made his way over there. Again he was right, as after a long and not very gentle tumble down, she ended up sliding on her back, head first, to just in front of his feet. That's when he recognised the individual.

"Azula."

She heard there was enough venom in his voice to kill her right there and then, should it enter her bloodstream. Her head was currently in a rather disorganised mess, so she couldn't quite figure out where she recognised the voice from. Rolling down a mountain side tends to do that to you.

"Do I know you?"

He scoffed. "After hunting us for as long as you did, you should recognise me."

Blinking to make her eyes stop spinning, she took a glance up at him the best she could from her unfortunate position. Okay, she deserved that one. Now that her head cleared up a bit, she knew who he was. It was fairly obvious anyway, as there couldn't have been that many who knew what she looked like this far from her home.

"Sokka, I barely recognise which way is up, and you are unfamiliar to me from this angle." She tried to keep the exasperation out of her voice, since she didn't want to agitate him further, but she was fairly certain she didn't succeed all that well, due to her momentary lack of ability to concentrate.

"Why are you here?"

"I came to speak with your sister. The Kyoshi Warriors told me she was likely to be here."

"Well, she's not. She's probably with Aang right now. I was actually about to go visit them in a few days."

Azula closed her eyes and sighed miserably. "Great. I could've met up with them and you if I had just stayed there."

"And now you're making a popsicle out of yourself." He paused, unsure if she would do anything against him for that barb, but she apparently decided to just glare at him a little. "Look, as much as the world would probably be better off if I just let you die..."

She interrupted him. "If you want to kill me, this is an excellent opportunity."

The remark was factual and lacked any indication of it was an offer or anything she feared he'd do. Just an honest fact. It was odd, he thought, coming from her.

"As I was saying, I'll take you back to the village. Are you injured?"

"I take it you do not care about my pride?"

"Nope."

She wiggled around slightly, trying to feel if any bones were broken or joints popped out of place.

"I am all right."

She tried to stand up, but swayed enough to make Sokka reflexively grab her to keep her from falling. He idly noted that her face was a shade redder than normal, whether from her previous position or something else.

"I'm impressed. You managed to find a way to hurt my pride even more than the crash did." While her pride was indeed hurt, she found it didn't feel as bad as she thought it would do.

"Would you rather I had let you fall into the snow again? 'Cause I have to tell you, I'd find it funny."

She thought about it, and it was actually sort of nice that he did that for her, spoiling his own amusement. "No," she admitted, and after a brief pause added, "Thank you."

Placing a hand on his shoulder to steady herself, she rose up to stand on her own again. He saw her taking a resigned glance at the wreckage, before turning to him, indicating that she wanted to move on. The remaining messenger hawk decided this was a good time to land on her shoulder. She paid it little mind.

As they started to walk towards his home, he realised two things. She seemed uncharacteristically honest the entire time, and she had specifically included him among the people she wanted to meet. He still wasn't about to trust her, though.

"What are you up to? Why do you want to meet with us?"

"I have no intention of harming any of you, so you can relax." She got a doubtful eye as an answer to that. "I know you hate me. You have all the reason in the world to, after what I have done to you, and as you know, that way of life has not exactly worked out well for me. You were not there to see it, but in the end, I went completely insane."

That was much more than what he expected to hear from her, so he just stopped and stared at her.

It was more than she had expected to tell him as well. A slight bit of irritation entered her voice, both because of her slippery tongue, and because she was toeing the line of what she could allow herself to say to him as it was. "I'm a cruel monster, not an idiot. I know what happened to me."

"I still think you were crazy all the time you chased us." It was all he could think of to say at the moment.

This was probably the hardest part for her, but she knew she had to come clean. If she had even the slightest trouble admitting it to herself she would only distance herself from the problem. Admitting it to others would help with that; she was fairly certain of it.

"You are not all wrong. I got some help to figure out a few things about myself. You know how you can see if something is right or wrong just by how it feels?"

She faced him to see if he was following her. A careful nod confirmed that he was.

"Well," she started and turned her eyes forward again, "I do not feel that. I do not have a conscience to follow. The Avatar told me my mind is broken that way, but he could not mend it, even with his mindbending thing." She made a circular motion pointing at her head while saying the last thing.

Sokka wasn't much surprised at that revelation of her lack of conscience. She had never appeared to have one all the time he knew of her. The last part did stick out to him, however. "Wait, Aang spiritbended you?"

His tone made her confused. Was that some kind of sacred privilege? "Yes. What of it?"

"Can you still bend fire?"

She raised an eyebrow. It wasn't a question she had expected. In answer, she snapped her fingers to produce a small, blue flame from her fingertips. Briefly recalling her temporary inability to do just that, she felt relieved she had figured out her bending before this.

"Oh," was all he said.

"What was that about?"

"No one told you about what happened to the former Fire Lord?" Sokka was a little surprised that no one had told her about this. After all, he was her father.

"He is imprisoned, and his bending..." Her eyes went wide as she connected the dots. "...was removed. The Avatar can remove your bending?" She opened her hand to let the flame grow as she stared into it. "I'm beginning to be very glad I never really fought him like that. Still, it would have been one awesome fight." She was now smiling and looking up into the sky, azure fire glimmering in her eyes. As she felt his eyes examine her, she caught herself. "Anyway, I have been told it might help if I speak with the people I have wronged in the past. This is why I want to speak with you."

"You sure talk a lot about yourself," he noted.

"You saw me crash into that mountain, and then fail to do such a simple thing as standing up. I do not think I have much more pride to lose. But trust me, I would not do it if I did not think it was necessary."

Her smile was bitter, but also relaxed. Or maybe she was just tired, he couldn't tell.

"Why would you think we want to help you?"

"Uncle Iroh told me that I needed to apologise to you if I wanted to learn what morals feels like. That is where I have run into a wall."

"You seem to be good at tackling walls."

After giving him a brief glare, she continued. "I learned that it would not work if I was not sincere in my apology, but I cannot be sincere in my apology unless I have a conscience to guide me."

"That is a dilemma." Sokka pondered the situation for a while, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Oh, well, it's not my problem." He shrugged casually and walked away from her.

That comment drove her up the wall in an instant. He could hate her all he wanted, but to just flip her off like that was simply inexcusable. "Remember who you're talking with, peasant!" Drawing her sword, she pointed it at him while electricity sparked along the black blade. She saw him turn around, not with fear, but with another of his quick quips just about to emerge from his lips. The sight of the sword stopped him cold.

Pointing at the weapon, he walked closer. "Hey! I know that sword! It's mine! Hand it over!"

A dark smirk emerged from her lips as an all too familiar expression covered her face. For the first time in weeks, Azula recognised herself, and she found it so very enjoyable. "Oh, really? I got it as a gift. Why should I give it to you, waterboy?"

"I challenge you for it!" Even if he wasn't a firebender, his eyes were still ablaze with determination. "I forged that sword myself with Master Piandao."

That made Azula's eyebrows rise quite high. "You have trained with Master Piandao, peasant?" She knew, of course, but this was just much more fun. "Well, well, this should be interesting." She drew a large flame with her free hand to show him she was ready on the spot.

The display of her power took Sokka down a notch in confidence, and he corrected his challenge. "The duel is for a sword. No bending."

She tilted her head curiously as a plan formed in her mind. She had missed those. "Very well. But the right to duel me on your terms is not free. You will provide a place for me to stay until I leave, including food, regardless of outcome. And when I win, you will help me with my quest." After the long journey, she was rather tired, and could probably not bend much fire anyway. This would at least hide that weakness.

Sokka smirked at those terms. The villagers helped each other out all the time, so providing lodging for her would be no problem. He also wanted to be with his sister if Azula was to talk with her, so the best course of action would be to travel together anyway. He had nothing to lose, and everything to win. "Deal." Without his beloved sword, he had to use his old club, which he also loved. Unfortunately, he had no good replacement for his boomerang yet, but the temporary one he pulled out from behind his back worked well enough for this.

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Author's notes:

Thus ends the eighth chapter of the story. So, who will win, Azula or Sokka? I'd be taking bets, but the most I can give is an honourable mention to the person who comes closest in describing of how it ends. You have until Friday. Some people don't count. You know who you are.

It was hard to get Azula in-character here. She deliberately acts in a different way than she would naturally do, at least until Space Sword comes up. Sokka points as much out. Not to mention, in some situations, Azula just lacks tact. That might be an additional reason to why she babbles more than usually.

If you haven't noticed by now, I like getting my favourite characters into trouble. I'm sadistic that way. In this fic, I find that it also balances out the lack of angst.

/ Another Duck


	9. Bitterflow

The Story of the Moral

An Azula-centric fanfic.

Disclaimer: Space Sword and Piandao's sword were designed with references to swords owned by Sifu Kisu, who was the martial arts consultant of Avatar.

Author's notes:

Due to technical problems, this update is about a day later than it should have been. Other than that, I'm back to the regular schedule now.

Guesses on who would win were fairly even, but slightly in Azula's favour. The answer is coming up right now.

/ Another Duck

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Bitterflow

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Azula knew Sokka was eager to fight, despite that she was the better warrior of the two. It served her well, as she was weary from the long flight. A prolonged battle would likely end in her defeat, since she didn't believe he was as tired. He had the battlefield advantage, but her superior skill would overcome that and win her the duel. Eager as he was, he made the first move.

She easily ducked the boomerang he threw, and took the opportunity to thrust at him, hoping to catch him off balance. No such chance, as the distance was just too great for her to cover before he could bring his club to parry. Oh, well, that would've been too easy.

He took a swing at her extended arm, forcing her to draw back before attacking again. They traded a few blows, neither pressing too hard, but Azula got a minor advantage, enough for her to go a little more on the offence. However, that's when the boomerang came back and struck her shoulder. Her armour protected her from any damage, but it made her lean dangerously far forward. Sokka's simultaneous catch of the throwing weapon and swing at her head surprised her, although she had just enough time to avoid being knocked out.

Now with two weapons in hand again, Sokka's defence proved too much for her to penetrate, so he managed to push her back somewhat. One step back became much longer than she had planned when her boot failed to find traction on the ice she didn't see under the thin layer of snow. With a little range between them, she foresaw the boomerang, and ducked down into a split. This time she planned on remembering when it came back.

Sokka followed her out on the slippery surface, and it was soon apparent that he had the advantage there. His boots, unlike hers, were made for this sort of ground. Keeping as steady as she could, she fought back all attacks he made. She actually found it somewhat easy to be on the defensive, as she would slip back whenever he pressed on. As long as she kept her feet steady, she wouldn't fall, even if she would skid more than she was comfortable with.

Then she noticed what she had been waiting for. His pupils strayed from her for just a moment, but that was all she needed. Reading his body language, she carefully but quickly stepped to the side, and then forward. The boomerang whizzed past her at the same time as she slashed towards his shoulder. He wasn't quite fast enough to both catch the incoming weapon and avoid being hit. For some reason unfathomable to her, he decided that taking a hit was the better choice.

He wasn't badly injured. It hadn't been a strong hit. Furthermore, the thick parka he wore blunted the worst part of the cutting edge, especially as the hood had been thrown up on the targeted shoulder, but it the arm was still taken out of the fight. Azula smirked. He was lucky she had pulled the strike somewhat as the sword was extremely sharp, but he couldn't take her on with just one arm, could he? Retreating to a safe distance, Sokka once more prepared to throw the boomerang. Unlike the previous throws, this went low, and she had to jump over it. In her overconfidence, she had let him away far enough so she wouldn't be able to attack before he could wield his club again.

This time, she had a definite advantage, but her feet still slipped more than he did, causing him to advance on her, even if he mostly just defended. When he checked where the projectile was, she was taken a bit off guard as it appeared to be high above her. Unsure of how to dodge it this time, she turned slightly to see where it would hit. She was initially worried as it turned out to come from straight above her, as moving quickly sideways wasn't too easy, but she managed to shift her weight enough to cause the boomerang to hit where her foot was a blink of an eye before.

Then her worry increased tenfold. With the snow covering the ice she was standing on, she hadn't paid much attention to where exactly it was, but now when she heard a loud crack at the impact of the weapon, followed by way too much groaning for her comfort, she realised the ice wasn't as thick as she had believed. She froze, not daring to move in case the ice would break completely. That's when she saw what her opponent was up to.

With the club high in the air, Sokka swung it powerfully into the ground in front of him. Azula had only time to gape as she dropped down into the freezing water. Struggling not to sink, she found it much harder to stay afloat compared to the more comfortable temperature of the water around Ember Island. Her armour didn't help either, nor did the sword she held in a death grip. To make it even more difficult, any ice she tried to hold on to broke even more. She threw the sword into a drift to get both hands free.

"Azula," she heard him say with a surprisingly relaxed voice. "Calm down."

That was easy for him to say. He wasn't the one drowning in ice cold water. Her thoughts were quickly invaded by blackness, but she fought it off, trying to remain conscious. She would not have another fainting spell, not now.

It still caused her to lose control of the situation, and she swallowed some water. Even if it wasn't long since she had fallen in, her body was rapidly growing numb in the coldness, which made her lose whatever buoyancy she had left. Submerged again, she didn't manage to get back to the surface, and she feared she would die. The darkness of her mind grew stronger.

Just as she could no longer reach up with her hands, she felt something solid hit one of them, and she grabbed onto it instinctively. Immediately after she was pulled up, and she welcomed the opportunity to breathe again. When she felt she was no longer pulled in any direction, she used her remaining strength to crawl up on the solid ice she had been towed against. Shortly afterwards, one hand grabbed her armour somewhere on the back and pulled her completely out of the water.

Before she had time to catch her breath, she heard him talking. "Can you make any fire?"

She tried, both with her hands and with her breath, but she had simply lost too much heat, and too much strength. Finally getting her mind in gear enough to take any action of her own, she told him, "Warm my hands."

He quickly figured out why, and took her hands in his, trying his best to rub some heat into them. The cold wasn't too severe for him, but he was used to it, and he also wasn't soaking wet. She, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as comfortable in this climate, even outside her current predicament.

It took her a few tries, but eventually she managed to get a small flame that slowly grew while she recovered in its heat. It became large enough for Sokka to back off so he wouldn't get burned, although Azula was unconcerned. This was something she was used to, after all.

It didn't last. Once the flame reached a to Azula comfortable size, it started shrinking, and soon faded away into nothing. "That's all I can do. We need to get to the village now."

None of the previous hostility remained between the two. Azula was too cold and tired to care any more, and Sokka only thought about getting them both back to safety. She walked a little bit on her own, but her strength failed her before long, so Sokka had to support her. A little bit further, and all she remembered was an increasing darkness dominating her vision.

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A strange smell invaded her senses as she awoke. She didn't recognise it, but it most certainly was some kind of food, which immediately reminded her of how hungry she was. Her stomach agreed with her in a way she hoped no one else heard.

"So you're awake now, bathing girl?"

No such luck. The nickname he used for her reminded her of what had happened the previous day, and it wasn't exactly the kind of thought she preferred first thing in the morning. While she didn't mind going for a swim, doing it fully clothed in a climate even those clothes were too cold for wasn't her idea of a day at the beach. "Yes, now go away."

"Okay, but I just thought I'd tell you that there's a ship leaving for the Earth Kingdom soon."

That made her open her eyes and rise from her bed in no time flat. The sudden movement also made her almost black out again, but she escaped that. She did however fall out of her bed as her balance didn't have the same luck as her consciousness.

"Easy there. We're not in a hurry."

"I need to stop doing that," she mumbled. Sitting back up on her bed, she idly noticed that she was wearing clothes of the Southern Tribe. "You have a continuously bad impact on my dignity, do you know that?" She took a few moments to clear her head and awaken fully.

"Thank you, I try!" he responded mirthfully.

She started to glare at him. She'd been doing a lot of that lately, and she wasn't anticipating an end to it in any foreseeable future. "So, do you want to tell me why I'm wearing different clothes than yesterday? I vividly remember being unconscious the entire time."

"Your old clothes and your armour hangs over on the drying rack." He indicated where by jerking his thumb backwards in a dismissive gesture. "I think they're still a little damp, but they should be dry enough to pack."

"Do I even want to know who dressed me?" She doubted that was a wise choice of topic for the conversation, but asked nonetheless.

"Probably not."

There was one thing she did want to find out, though, wise or not. "Was it you?"

"No." That was an answer she found vaguely relaxing. "I just braided your hair." That was not.

"_Whaat?!_" Her hands flew to check her hair, but only found her relatively straight hair flowing unhindered down her shoulders. If she had glared at him before, she added even more fire in her eyes, almost literally. Sokka, on the other hand, wasn't scared off by it.

"You know, you're actually kind of fun to mess with. You're not as scary anymore, especially without your make-up."

That did it. Two blue flames appeared, one in each hand, and she took aim at him. In a flash, he was out and away. She was after him as soon as she could, but he had disappeared somewhere in the village beyond her sight. Angrily, she threw the flames at a nearby pile of snow, blowing it away completely. Behind it, she saw the object of her ire.

"Umm, hello! Now you're scary," he admitted, before darting behind another snow pile, which met the same fate as the first one. This time, he had managed to escape further away, so she didn't see him any more.

Her stomach growled again, so she decided to kill him later, and went inside to eat what he had prepared for her. It did smell rather delicious, after all.

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Sokka entered again when she had just finished the tasty fish, and she suspected it wasn't a coincidence. Her temper had mostly faded back to normal, but she still gave him a fiery scowl.

"You have a little time to pack if you want to come," he informed her.

"Do you want to climb up on that mountain to retrieve my stuff?"

"Ah, good point. You can keep the clothes you're wearing, though."

She looked them over, finding them to fit her rather well. Remembering the time she had infiltrated the Earth Kingdom, she realised she had worn clothes from around the world. "I should get some Air Nomad clothes as well, then I'll have a complete set. Although, I think I prefer the Kyoshi Warrior outfit. Maybe I should change into that later." It wasn't quite true. She didn't find it too comfortable, but it did bring back some sweet memories of conquering Ba Sing Se.

His eyes went to the floor and the mood turned blue. "I'd rather you didn't."

"Why not?" Her eyebrows rose only for a moment before the reason for his objection struck her mind. "Oh, Suki. I heard about that."

"It hurts when someone leaves you."

"Tell me about it."

Neither her tone nor her sympathy sat quite right with him, even if it sounded honest, and it made him snort. "Like you can feel empathy."

As usual when someone tried to insult her by implying she was evil in one way or another, she shrugged dismissively. "You're ri..." That's when the true meaning of the situation fully impacted on her. Her eyes opened in an odd sort of excitement as she stared at Sokka. "You're wrong. You're actually wrong! I _do_ know how you feel. I can feel what you feel. I feel _empathy_." She savoured the taste of the last word, like it was a new dish she had never tried before, just like the fish. The concept was far from new to her, since she was rather good at determining if people felt good or bad, but this time she genuinely felt it as well.

With a disbelieving look in his eyes, he asked her, "How does someone like you know that?"

She grabbed his shoulders, eager to explain. "When Mai and Ty Lee betrayed me, I felt abandoned, like I couldn't trust two of the only people I actually could trust. This must be what you feel now. You're lost, lonely, and you've lost the stability to fully deal with the situation in a rational way. You're angry at yourself for not expecting it. I know that because I feel the same way."

He had a hard time figuring out how to react to that. On one hand, it made him a little bit upset and antagonistic to hear someone say that in such a positive tone, especially someone like Azula. On the other hand, she did indeed describe what he felt rather accurately, so he couldn't just tell her she was wrong. Nothing she'd said since she fell down before his feet the other day had been lies from what he could tell, and this wasn't either. Then again, she was a notorious and excellent liar.

"You do realise you're being happy about something sad?"

Shrugging, she just countered it with, "Well, I am crazy. I can probably get away with not making sense."

It was hard to plead rationality to someone who admitted she was insane, so he just kept his mouth shut. It also made him think about what he actually felt about Suki. Azula obviously picked it up, and tried to stifle her excitement.

"Sokka." She looked him in the eyes with an emotion he'd never seen in her before. It almost looked like compassion. Sensing his confusion, she gave him a hug instead. "I'm sorry you lost her."

To say that Sokka was conflicted would be an understatement. Of all people, _Azula_ was hugging him. The last day they had interacted had no where near made up for her previous behaviour, so he still wasn't sure if it was just another of her nefarious plots or not. But sympathy, even coming from her, felt kind of nice. He hadn't spoken with anyone about what happened between him and Suki, although he didn't really want to either. In the end, he decided to be careful. After all, many people had been burned by Azula's lies, sometimes literally.

"Look," he started, and pushed her to an arm's length from him. He noted an annoyed expression coming from her, but he didn't think it was directed at him. "Thanks for caring and all, but you're still Azula. It feels weird to be hugged by a mortal enemy."

"It feels weird to me too, okay?" She sat down on a bed, frustrated at the situation. "I'm not comfortable wearing my emotions on my sleeve, nor hugging anyone." She paused, briefly. "Other than Ty Lee." Then she went back to her rant. "I feel exposed, like every time I say something it will be used by someone else to manipulate me. And it's vexing having to think everything over just to figure out if it will hurt the person or not, and this when I'm trying to be _nice_. Being nice when it's of no gain to me isn't something I've done much of before."

She took some time to breathe and calm herself down. Her visage went from emotional to determined as she looked up at him again.

"But I need to go against my past self, or I will end up back where I was, and let me tell you, losing your mind in paranoid delusions isn't all what it's cranked up to be." Tired eyes were left when her rant began to run out of steam. "When I lost trust in my closest friends, I had only paranoia to turn to, and no one will trust me if they fear me."

"Didn't you believe everyone could be ruled by fear?"

"Mai and Ty Lee taught me differently. They never followed me out of fear. Well, maybe a little, but most of all, they are my friends. I just didn't realise it in time."

"Friends are great to have, and family. I wouldn't have gotten where I am without my sister."

She smiled a little sideways. "I can relate to that as well."

"You mean with your brother."

"No, your sister. I don't remember clearly, but I think she helped me when I needed it the most."

"Katara helped you?" She'd never told him that, and he found out most things about her eventually.

"It had to have been her, since the only other person there was Zuzu, and he was dead. So either her, or a delusion of someone. She helped me back to reality when I had lost my mind. I should thank her for that."

"Probably," he said, unsure of what to think. "Anyway, the boat leaves in an hour or two. Make sure you're ready by then."

"Who's the leader here? I need to discuss some matters."

Sokka explained which the right house was, and she was out and on her way.

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Author's notes:

Thus ends the ninth chapter of the story. Anyone wants to guess what the title means? It's nothing complicated, and Sokka will help out with that later.

I'm going to say that MTL76 came closest to guessing the outcome, as the guessing was about the how, not the who. Here's a good feeling as a prize. No one guessed on home field advantage, though. Feel free to dispute the outcome.

Battles are hard to write, so I hoped this one turned out well. The outcome was really the only thing I knew from the beginning, and it was also the most enjoyable part.

Azula's mood flip-flops a lot in this chapter. I've found that in a lot of stories, a character has one personality throughout the entire thing. I've really tried to avoid that, by making the characters act differently depending on what mood they're in. Tell me how it works, or if they just seem out of character.

/ Another Duck


	10. Take a Hike

The Story of the Moral

An Azula-centric fanfic.

Disclaimer: The voice of Sokka was created by Jack DeSena.

Author's notes:

You know, I thought the new divider would be easy... And the spoiler was just about what happened last chapter, so no fear of spoiling anything now. That's the hint you'll get this time.

Oh, and if you're curious, this is about half-way through the fic, give or take. That's the intention, anyway.

/ Another Duck

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Take a Hike

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The boat made its way slowly north-east. Well, it was one of the smaller warships the Water Tribe had acquired during the war, so it wasn't exactly slow, but to Azula, who had previously been flying at very high speeds, it was. Despite that the sun was up, it was rather cold, so she was grateful for the clothes she currently wore.

As she preferred to do while she was otherwise bored, she practised. Due to the diminutive size of the vessel, she didn't have as much room as she'd like, but it was still enough for several of the more stationary forms. The particular form she performed at the moment was one that emphasised control of the kicks and punches rather than speed and movement. It was also one Sokka recognised.

He sat a bit farther back than her, quite enjoying the cool weather, and watched her train. He'd never had the opportunity to just study her technique before. Most of the time he'd been at the end of it, or otherwise busy with her friends. On the other hand, he had seen Zuko practise a lot, and this was very similar. It was hard to judge, but the sister had an edge in her control, although the brother was likely stronger, at least physically. Azula was definitely stronger at firebending.

At the end, Sokka noticed one difference between the two siblings. While Zuko finished right where Azula was now, she had one move left: lightning generation. She drew first one arc with her fingers, then another one and focused the energy in preparation to cast it out over the side of the ship. That's when she fell down forward. The lightning discharged from her hands and through the metal floor, but some apparently went through her as well, since she was clearly in pain, even if she didn't let out a sound.

Concerned, Sokka went over to her, but by the time he got there, she had recovered, relatively speaking. She was sitting down, breathing heavily.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes."

"What happened?"

"A while back, I had a concussion. It's coming back to haunt me at times, but it's getting better." She found it surprisingly easy to admit her weakness. It probably had to do with what he had seen of her before; as she had said back then, she didn't have much more to lose. "Why do you care anyway?"

"I don't," he quickly protested. "But I don't like to see people in pain. Even you."

"I find it amusing."

"How can you say that? It's horrible!"

She gave him a look, reminding him of who he was talking with. "You find it funny to see someone stumble, or drop something on their feet, right?"

"I suppose," he relented.

"Imagine that, but without any scruples about hurting people."

"I see what you mean."

They fell into a comfortable silence for a while, thinking about how things had changed between them. Not long ago, they were more or less mortal enemies, but now they were talking on rather friendly terms. It wasn't something either of them had expected to happen any time soon.

"I know you don't trust me, but I think I actually trust you now, at least a little. You risked your life to save me."

He thought back at the end of the duel. When he threw the boomerang that last time, he had calculated where it would hit, and what would happen. Being used to the cold and having experience with the ice, he didn't really believe he was in any danger, but he thought it was better to keep that little fact to himself. There was a certain risk to it after all, and it was probably far worse for a firebender.

"It's hard to trust someone you take for granted will lie. The phrase, 'Azula always lies,' is rather common around here."

"I have tried to be honest now. It's different, but it serves my purpose. It's hard, though. So much easier to not say anything, or say something that doesn't reveal anything."

"You mean to tell me you've been completely honest?"

Thinking back at what she had said, she gave him a small smirk and shook her head. "I knew the sword was yours. Master Piandao had it, and he only gave it to me so I could bring it to you."

"What? You dirty li'l..." Pausing, he remembered how it turned out in the end, and instead started smirking back at her. "Oh, well. Look where that got you."

She had a sudden urge to smack him, but restrained herself. It would probably not be a good idea. "You're never going to let that go, are you?"

"Of course not."

She sighed, unable to let out her aggressions the way she wanted. "Lately I've felt like some sort of cosmic plaything. Or at least comical relief for the wind spirit."

"I can relate."

"Speaking of Piandao, by the way," she started before digging out a leather pouch she carried with her, "I found this on the Boiling Rock. He thought I should give it back to you." Producing the White Lotus tile, she handed it to him.

"I don't even know what it means."

She could tell he was lying, but decided not to press it. "If you know, you know; if you don't, I won't tell you."

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They eventually reached Chin Village, or a nearby beach, anyway. The ship was going to head north from there, but Azula and Sokka were heading towards Gaoling. Sokka didn't want to stay long there, so they quickly picked up some supplies, and started their trek eastwards. The weather was warmer there, so they had packed away their heavy parkas.

"This is still weird to me." Sokka was eyeing Azula with a contemplating look.

"I agree." There were probably more things she thought were weird than normal at this point. "Are you referring to anything in particular?"

"You're wearing my sister's clothes. It's just so different from what you've usually been wearing."

"Really?" She pulled at her garments. "But they fit so well, and she's shorter than I am."

Raising an eyebrow, he looked her over. "They sort of look a little tight on you." She just shrugged. "We can't get new clothes as often as some royalty I know of, so they're easily adjustable. It makes it possible to wear them while growing up without getting new ones all the time."

"Well, I kind of like them. The colour suits me."

"Who would've guessed? Azula likes the colour blue."

"Yes, she doe-ooh..." The word got cut off when her mind faded out for a second, and she slumped down to lean her hands on her knees.

"You said you were getting better?"

"I am," she assured him, and started walking again. "I barely even felt that one."

"Sure. Well, at least you weren't charged with lightning this time. That looked like it hurt."

No answer was given. Instead she began playing around with very small gestures, parting the energy in the air. It did generate lightning as usual, but instead of firing it off, she let it dissipate within her, trying to get a sense of what it felt like, and what she could handle.

To Sokka, it was mildly disturbing, to say the least. She was good at masking her pain, but he could still tell it hurt every time she did that, from how her arm, and sometimes more, jerked with no control of her own. They walked for a while, and he grew more and more agitated. A few hours later, he couldn't stand it any more

"Why must you continue torturing yourself? It's appalling."

Confused at his offended tone, she shot off a small bolt into the ground and turned towards him. "Is that one of those moral things? I'm just practising precision lightningbending, and it doesn't hurt that much."

"Doesn't hurt that much? I can see your entire arm spasm. That has to hurt."

"It looks worse than it is, and it only really hurt before I got the hang of it. Now it just tingles very strongly."

"Whatever you say. We should stop for the day now, though. It's going to get dark soon."

"We can save a few hours if we walk until it actually gets dark."

"You go ahead and do that. I'm setting up camp now."

After standing still for a few seconds deliberating whether to continue on her own, she shrugged and went with him some distance from the main road. She found she preferred his company over being alone. It wasn't really that she felt safer, but more that she felt her paranoia vanishing when someone else took her mind off of it.

They hadn't planned on being on the road for very long, so they had opted for a light-weight wind shelter instead of a tent. They lied in their sleeping bags, watching the stars, ready to get some sleep. It wasn't something that came easily to Azula, though.

Her mind was still rolling around everything that happened to her in the last few days. Her life was so different, but it wasn't a bad change. Sure, it was hard at times, and many times she only appreciated it afterwards, but overall, life provided her with unexpected challenges she was glad to solve. She also liked to think she solved them better than, let's say, Sokka trying to make dinner.

"I thought you said you were good at roasting meat."

"I am!" he declared with some hostility. "It's your blue flames. They burn the meat way too fast."

"Sure, blame it all on me. Everyone else does." It wasn't something she took offence to. She was more amused by Sokka's attempt at blaming someone other than himself.

"Yes, poor you." He turned to the other direction. "Just go to sleep."

"I'm trying to; I just can't fall asleep."

"It would be easier if you'd just put out the fire."

"But I like it." Lying on her back, her eyes rolled towards her forehead to gaze into the flames. "So full of power, capable of causing death and destruction to anything that comes into its way, but still so beautiful and living."

"Say what you want; I still think it's just a night light for a big baby who's afraid of the dark. Now go to sleep like the mature woman you pretend to be."

He heard her shuffle around a little, then ask him with a soft voice, "Sokka, take my hand."

"What? Why?" Turning back to her, he saw her lying relaxed on her side with one hand held almost daintily towards him.

"Please?"

The kind visage that followed her pleading shocked him completely. Pulling up one of his hands from the sleeping bag, he extended it to her. The quite literal electric shock that followed made him scream out loud.

"Thank you!" she told him with a smile that still didn't look like her old, evil self, but rather like a happy, little girl. Obviously, she wasn't truly as innocent as she looked.

He grumbled to himself as he kept a careful eye on her. She appeared to be sleeping, but he wouldn't trust her appearance any more After a while, just after the stinging in his hand ended, the camp fire turned back to its natural yellow. He took that as a safer sign that she finally had fallen asleep than her peaceful breathing. Now he could finally relax.

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Close to the end of their trip, Azula was in a good mood. Despite Sokka's decision to set up camp early, they had made good time. Partially because she found she slept rather well even if they didn't have a real tent or any kind of bed, but also because the universe had left her alone and not played any tricks on her.

Turning her head slightly, she observed her travel companion. He was feeling unquestionably worse than she was. She wondered how much that had to do with the way she woke him up with a splash of water when she felt he had gotten enough sleep, or how she'd refused to let him spoil any more meals by cooking herself.

She reflected briefly on how cooking was normally considered a woman's job, a stereotype she'd been avoiding most her life, but at the same time, it was also part of her fire mastery. At least she wasn't sewing, although Sokka's complete inability to do so had almost made her want to take over his attempt at mending a hole at the knee of his pants.

Almost. It had been amusing to watch nonetheless. She wasn't sure she'd done better, though. These typically female skills weren't any she had in quantities, and definitely not qualities. For instance, she had completely messed up her hair once before, even if that only was because of her mental state at the time. It wasn't something she was very good at, but she could do her hair up properly if she concentrated. She was starting to wonder about her current braid, however.

For some reason, Sokka had talked her into wearing a more traditional Water Tribe hairdo instead of her normal top-knot. It was a little annoying, but not enough to ruin her mood. The way her hair hung down over her eyes made it hard to see well, and she wasn't sure it was particularly flattering. Sokka's comment that it made her look, "almost humane," didn't help much.

How had he talked her into it? Well, he wanted to play a prank on his sister. Toph wouldn't likely notice any difference, although neither of them were aware that he would come with the princess. She had pretended to be someone else before, and didn't really mind it, but doing it just for fun was new to her. It would be interesting to see if she could fool Katara this time, as pretending to be a Kyoshi Warrior had failed once they met eye to eye. Playing someone Katara hadn't met before would likely be easier, though.

Sokka had told her Toph hadn't met her parents in a long while, so they had decided to meet a little bit outside town, in a clearing. They had found the stream the earthbender said led to the clearing, or at least they hoped it was the right one. It was unusual to follow a blind girl's directions, after all.

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Author's notes:

Thus ends the tenth chapter of the story. This was one of those chapters I knew I had to write, but had no idea what would actually happen within it. I found it relaxing, though, with just the two of them interacting casually, and nothing special going on.

/ Another Duck


	11. Memories

The Story of the Moral

An Azula-centric fanfic.

Disclaimer: Read, or Wan Shi Tong will eat you.

Author's notes:

This chapter holds one of the reactions I'm the most uncertain of it it will work or not in the entire fic. To me, it does, but I know many might not agree.

Another hint for the divider: It's not binary. Well, obviously it kinda is, but not the kind you'd be expecting. It's not made up out of bytes, in any case.

/ Another Duck

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Memories

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Appa was lying in the shadows of the trees, trying to sleep despite Momo's attempts at annoying the giant. Toph and Katara were practising rather lazily out of boredom, waiting for the latter's brother. The former's meeting with her parents had been both disappointing and encouraging. It hadn't been the happy reunion they had hoped, but the parents were still trying to cope with this new version of their daughter, so it held some promise for their future relationship.

The atmosphere had however been somewhat stiff, which made them want to take a few days' break. It would also help the Bei Fongs to think about the situation, including Toph herself. Sure, she was adamant about keeping her life as a master bender, but she also wanted to keep her parents.

"Sweetness, someone's coming." Toph halted what she was doing as she and Katara looked down the stream. The dirt was soft, so it was hard for the blind girl to determine who it was, but the other girl could easily make out her brother in the distance.

"It's Sokka!" she exclaimed. "And a Water Tribe girl," she added with some confusion.

"Did he pick up a new girlfriend?"

"I thought he was still with Suki, but it's not her. She doesn't have that long hair."

Their discussion was interrupted by the shrill sound of a hawk. Looking up, they saw it homing in on Sokka.

"Hawky!" Sokka was beside himself of happiness, and quickly fetched a thick glove from his pack. As soon as the bird landed on his now protected hand, he petted its head. "I'm missed you." He'd hug it, but he wasn't sure a messenger hawk would like that. It seemed content with the attention it got, though.

The girl at his side clutched his arm, covering behind his shoulder from the not quite so fearsome avian animal.

The four individuals met up halfway, all with different reactions. Katara smiled at her brother and looked curiously over the new girl, Toph tilted her head suspiciously but remained silent, Sokka was beaming, and the new girl was still hiding behind him.

"So, Sokka, who's this?" Katara was surprised to see someone wearing pretty much the same clothes she wore. Exactly the same clothes, in fact. They were also of similar height, but otherwise she was different. Her skin was lighter, and didn't quite look like she was from the Water Tribes. Hair covered her eyes, although that was more because she had her head bent down demurely.

"This is my new girlfriend," stated Sokka proudly.

"Who here hit their head very hard?" Toph would be eyeing the couple, but instead folded her arms and put on what she thought was an accusing expression.

The new girlfriend meekly raised her hand, and answered in a tone fitting the rest of her disposition. "Um, I did."

"Oh." The earthbender scratched the back of her head. "I wasn't expecting to be right."

"Toph!" Sokka drew away from his girlfriend and placed an arm around the short girl's neck. "Come here, I have something I need to tell you." Leaving the two older girls alone, he took the younger one a little bit away and whispered something in her ear, which made her grin.

"So, um, how did the two of you meet?" Katara asked nervously. There was something about this new girl that was off, but she couldn't place her finger on it.

"I, ah, I've been chasing your brother for quite some time, actually."

Katara was a little relieved that she wasn't the only one who was nervous. Her voice was familiar to the waterbender, but still just out of reach for her memory. She also hadn't been aware of anyone actually chasing him.

"I'm Katara. What's your name?"

The change was instant in the new girl. Her full height was shown as she straightened up and took on a much prouder air than before. The uncertainty in her countenance disappeared to make way for a rather cold, and rather familiar face, in particular as her golden eyes became easily visible.

"I am Princess Azula, the Blue Dragon of the Fire Nation."

Katara's jaw dropped. That girl had actually seemed nice. "But... you... you..." Tears threatened to well up in the waterbender's eyes, something that confused Azula. It wasn't one of the reactions she had expected, and left her wondering what was up.

Whack.

That, on the other hand, was a reaction she had anticipated, but still wasn't quick enough to avoid due to her momentary lapse. Katara had swung her left palm across the taller girl's previously injured temple. The force from the blow threw her head sideways, and before she had time to do anything, she was grabbed in a tight hug.

"You recovered!"

Sokka tried to share a shocked glance with Toph, but it didn't quite work out for obvious reasons, so he turned to Hawky instead. However, she was still as stunned by the development as he was.

A second later, Katara noticed that she was falling backwards, with Azula's body leaning heavily against her. Too slow to react in time, they both fell over, ending with one trapped waterbender, and one unconscious firebender.

Once Sokka and Toph had gathered their wits, they came to gently roll Azula off of Katara.

"What just happened?"

"You knocked out the fire princess, Sugar."

"But I've seen her take worse hits than that."

"Katara, she had concussion a while ago," explained Sokka. "She hit her head in just about the same place you hit her now."

"Oh." Mostly by instinct, she opened her water skin and drew out a bit of water to cover her hands. Moving over to Azula, she concentrated on healing the swelling she had just caused, as well as what she could feel below the skin. Once the water had stopped glowing, it didn't take long for the firebender to wake up.

She had only opened her eyes and spotted Katara leaning over her before she she flipped up to stand behind the healer, swung an arm around her throat, and pointed a burning finger towards her chin.

"Are you going to attack me again?"

Sokka noticed that despite her deadly tone and the danger she posted to his sister, he wasn't as alarmed as he thought he'd be in a situation like this. It was even the reason he had wanted to go with Azula in the first place, to keep her from attacking Katara. Yet, he was relatively composed.

"Azula. Calm down. She isn't going to attack you." His sister quickly agreed with a nod. "You weren't awake when she did it, but she healed you."

The only reaction was a minor twist of her head, but then she let go of her captive. "Hmm. You're right." Slowly stroking her hand over the origin of her headaches, she relaxed. "Thank you, Katara."

"I... ah, I don't know how to feel about you."

"It's simple. You hate me, but you don't want to attack me again since you don't want me to become hostile again."

"No. I don't hate you, Azula. Not after..." Her eyes were downcast. "It was horrible. I just can't hate you."

"Don't pity me." Her tone was icy, but it soon warmed up the slightest bit. "I probably deserved it anyway. It also made me realise I was on the wrong path. It felt natural, still does, but I don't want to end up there again."

Sokka was somewhat used to this new Azula by now, but the other two girls needed some time to take it in. Toph had been rather indifferent about their previous enemy before, so she didn't find it hard to adjust, in particular as she found Sokka to accept the situation well enough to play a joke on Katara. She, on the other hand, had several conflicting emotions about the princess.

After a minute or so, she made her mind up to change the subject into something she had thought about many times before.

"Azula?" "Katara?"

Their simultaneous questions halted each other. The relatively less confused girl made up her mind first about continuing.

"You were the only person at the Agni Kai other than my brother. I want to know what happened there that I forgot." She cast an eye towards the other two. "Preferably alone."

"Come on, Sokka." Once they had gotten a little bit away, just where Appa was resting, she turned to him to whisper, "I can tell you what they say anyway."

Once the they stopped, Azula dropped her voice to a low, conversational volume. "You can still hear us, blind girl. Go away." Watching them walk further away and out of sight, she turned towards a quizzical looking Katara.

"How did you know she could hear us?"

"I didn't, but she wouldn't have responded if she didn't hear me. Now, tell me what happened." To mark her point that she was listening and expecting Katara to talk, she sat down cross-legged on a nearby rock.

Still both unsure of how to deal with the firebender, and suspicious about her behaviour, Katara opened up with a question. "What do you remember?"

"Fragments. I know I fought Zuko, zapped him with my lightning, and he died. After that, I'm not sure. I heard some angry words, and... it's all fuzzy."

"Your father doesn't care about you. No one does. You killed the only person who did." Katara recited the words without emotion, remembering them clearly.

"So it was you, after all." At least one piece of the puzzle found its place, but there were still many missing.

"Yes. You had killed Zuko, so I was pretty pissed off at you. It wasn't much that happened afterwards. I turned my back to you, and then you ran past me to your brother. I don't know how you did it, but you restored his life. You were also struck by lightning, and you passed out. I didn't think you would ever wake up, even after I had done what I could to heal you."

"Why would you heal me at that time? I was your enemy. You could easily have killed me instead."

"When you lost your mind, you also lost everything that you had kept hidden from people. I saw who you really were, and it frightened me."

"I know I'm a scary monster. You don't have to remind me of that."

"That's not what I meant. It wasn't you that frightened me." Azula gave her a curious look. "I realised what you must've gone through to become what you were, and that's what horrified me. I didn't see my enemy. I saw an abused child who'd grown up without any love."

Still sitting on the rock, she just stared at the ground for a while, absorbing what the waterbender thought of her and trying to take it as something other than an affront. Opinions wasn't really what concerned her. However, her words rang true, and it was hard to hear someone say that about you when you really wanted it to be nothing more than an insult.

"I still don't remember it. I want to; I have to remember it."

"I can't bring back your memory for you. I'm not sure I want to." Her previous enemy was much nicer now, or at least more reasonable. It wasn't anything she wanted to risk destroying by reminding her of what she had been, at her worst.

Azula was adamant, just like her brother. If they wanted something, they'd get it. "I need to remember. I need to know what the turning point was, why I started changing."

Then again, it had also been the best Katara had seen of her. Saving her brother at the risk of her own life. "It doesn't change the fact that I can't make you remember something you don't."

"Hmm, maybe you can. Show me what happened."

"Just show you?" Katara pondered it for a while. The fight would be hard to re-enact, but one detail in particular could prove effective enough. She fetched a rope and went into the nearby stream. The water was very shallow where she stood, so only her feet were below the surface.

"Come on, and stand before me."

Azula followed the instructions and stood waiting for what would come.

"Hmm. Something's not right. You're wearing Water Tribe clothes, but that can't be helped. Pull your hair loose."

Raising an eyebrow at the small detail, she did so anyway. At the very least, both of them had an attention to detail, a quality she appreciated. And she finally got rid of both the braid and the hair in front of her eyes.

"Now, shoot some fire towards my forehead. Don't do it too fast, because I want to be sure I pull this off correctly."

Not thinking it would do to just go through the motions, the firebender imagined that at the time, she had wanted to kill Katara, so she focused on that and summoned up some anger. She could feel the fury fuelling her flames like she had been taught by her father. To think of the waterbender as someone who wanted to take her throne away wasn't hard at that point. She started to gather her energy to create a flame, and then performed a somewhat dramatic move that would take the head off of her opponent.

Her world was encased in ice. Unable to move, she could only watch her as enemy freed herself from the frozen water. More of it melted around the outstretched hand, and the peasant placed the rope around it to lead it behind her back while she collected the other hand as well. Only when the princess was tied up securely did the water fall down around them to enter the stream again.

"Why you little..." She didn't get further before her arms were jerked back, cutting her insult short. "I'm going to kill you," she promised.

"Azula, get a hold of yourself. You asked me to do this." Katara absently noted that two people were watching, prepared to cut in should she need it.

"I..." There it was, the angry voice that brought her back. Just like when she went insane. This wasn't then. Her father still didn't care about her, but others did. And her Zuzu wasn't dead. That was good. Back then it had terrified her to the point where it was the only focus she had. A focus that went through her fury, though her delusions, and into her mind. She had to get a hold of herself to save him. And she did. She saved him, and her own sanity with him.

Memories flashed by her. The entire duel, from the challenge to her electrocution, and all details in between. Her off-centre stance at the beginning, being unnerved by the power she saw her brother display, seeing the waterbender moving in to join him, losing her mind when she knew she was beaten, and finally finding the little anchor to reality that was her brother's love. The turning point.

She had seen him lying lifelessly on the ground with the waterbender kneeled beside him. He had cared about her; the last one who did. She couldn't let him die. It had been her fault, so she had to do something. The chains hadn't been enough to stop her. Instinct and knowledge had guided her hands, and she had brought her brother back to life, almost at the cost of her own.

"I remember. I remember everything." Standing up and walking away from the water, she pulled her hands free. Katara hadn't actually tied them up, but rather just held the rope to make it appear so. "It's funny. It's like remembering being someone else, but completely understanding the logic behind the insane reasoning. Like being in a dream where everything make sense, even if it's nothing like the real world."

"If you do remember, there's something I've been curious about. How did you bring back Zuko to life? You're not a healer; I am, and I can't do that. Probably not even with the spirit water as I did with Aang."

Azula's voice grew a little in volume as she folded her arms. "As you two can see, I'm not going to attack her, so just step out of the bushes now."

Toph and Sokka walked out from their hiding place, somewhat embarrassed at the discovery.

"How much did you hear?" There was some annoyance in her voice, although she did realise they had a valid reason or two to spy on them.

"We saw the demonstration. By the way, Katara, that was a cool move." She smiled at her brother's praise.

"Are you two also interested in this?" She wasn't used to teaching people, but she had promised to teach Aang later, so this could be good practise. Not to mention, she got to show off. There had been a certain lack of that in her life lately.

"Sure, why not?"

"Right. I'm sure Zuko and Aang learned the same thing, so they might have told you, but fire is life."

They all nodded.

"Fire is similar to lightning. This means that lightning is also part of life. However, there are differences. You have fire within you, the inner fire. This is connected with your spirit, and what drives you. You also have lightning within you, but that's not spiritual; it's physical. Katara, you know how people have water in their bodies, and you can sense it?" It wasn't something Azula actually knew about, but it was her theory, and she had always enjoyed seeming more informed than she was.

"Yes. It's what gives me a better idea of how to heal people. The water in them tells me what's wrong with them. That's how I could see your head injury without being able to touch the inside of your skull."

"I can feel lightning in a similar way. It goes through your body all the time, from the brain to your heart, to your muscles, and back. It controls you in that way, but at the same time, you control it to stay alive. In the same way, a skilled lightningbender could control someone else, although that would require a lot more skill than either I or my father had. I can, however, do this."

She took Katara's arm by the elbow with one hand, and drew a small spark of electricity in the other. When she carefully touched Katara's lower arm with her charged fingers, the waterbender's digits constricted one by one, depending where the arm was touched.

"It feels weird, almost like when Hama bloodbended me."

"Bloodbending? You can bend blood?" That was news to her, something she had to investigate further.

"Yeah, I can make people move with that. It's creepy, though, so I don't do it unless I really need to."

"Or unless you're pissed off," added Sokka helpfully. He got a glare in return.

"As I was saying," Azula continued to make the others be silent, "since lightning can control one's muscles, it can also stop one's heart. Or, as I learned with Zuko, start it. His spirit hadn't left his body, but I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to do what I did if it had. In his case, I also had to purge him from all the lightning he had in him that he didn't manage to redirect."

"This is so amazing. Who would've thought that the element that brings the most destruction is also one that can give life?"

"I did. Now, what was that about bloodbending? Can you show me?"

"As I said, I'd rather not. Besides, I can't do it unless the moon is full enough."

"So you need to be strong enough to use it?" Azula was aware of how the moon made waterbenders stronger, and she contemplated that for a while. "I know you can bend mud with less water than the body, so it's not the lack of water that's a problem." Her meeting with Aang made an appearance in her thought process. It gave her an idea. Closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths to calm herself. "Try to move my arm now."

"I don't want to do it."

"I'm waiting."

There was something in her voice that made Katara want to obey it. "Fine." She raised her hands towards her target and concentrated. She could sense the water within Azula and tried to bend it. While it was difficult, she could feel it reacting to her will. Eventually the arm did rise up, just what she had tried to accomplish.

"You're right; this does feel weird. Try to hold your control." Slowly but surely, the princess regained control of her arm. "I was right."

"How were you right?" asked Sokka.

"It's not the full moon that allows Katara to bloodbend. She just needs to overcome her target's resistance. All people have a natural resistance to anything that affects their bodies. All I had to do to let her bend my blood was to let go of that resistance. I did the same thing to allow the Avatar to mindbend me without causing any of us harm."

"This is just insane," Toph cut in, having felt too silent for too long, albeit fascinated with what had happened. "Azula, the fire princess, is teaching Katara to bloodbend? My mind boggles." She demonstrated by swaying in circles for a bit. I'm going to go to Appa and wait for Twinkletoes to come so he can make sense of this.

"But you would miss me kicking Katara's butt, then."

All three pairs of eyes turned towards her, even if one pair didn't see anything.

"What?! You're going to do what now with me?"

"The last time we fought, I was insane. I want a rematch." Azula's voice left no question as to her intentions, yet Katara managed to find one.

"Why would I fight you?"

"Because you're one of few people who actually stand a chance against me. Out of all people I've fought, you've given me the most trouble on your own. I promise not to kill you, or cause you any serious injury. You don't need to promise me that in return. Besides, you know you want to get even for some of the things I've done."

"Fine. Sokka, tell Aang to remove her bending if she kills me." Even if the words were to her brother, it was clear it was a threat to keep Azula to her word.

However, the firebender had no plans on any killing. There was no gain to it, and it would go against what she had worked for. A friendly spar, on the other hand, would suit her just fine. She had a few new tricks she wanted to try. She had also been honest about Katara's ability to fight her. They had been evenly matched before.

"Let's do this."

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Author's notes:

Thus ends the eleventh chapter of the story. This was another fun chapter to write, and one of the most important ones. Azula also got to play a joke on someone else, although it didn't turn out that well for her.

Katara's reaction is odd, and I have no idea how she would react either. It's actually based on what a lot of viewers would want to do with Azula. Some thought she deserved what she got, while others started feeling sympathy, or at least pity, at the end. Katara was visible shaken by it, so I went with this interpretation.

I don't know how many times I've rewritten the part where Azula remembers the end of Agni Kai. It used to be rather vague, but its importance to the story made it impossible for me to keep it that way. If something still need to be clarified about that, do tell.

I also have to give a lot of credit to the writers for how they wrote Azula's transformation at the end of the series. It truly was epic, both her breakdown and the accomplishment by the creators at succeeding to shift a cold-hearted villain to someone you could actually feel sympathy for.

/ Another Duck


	12. Crimson and Azure

The Story of the Moral

An Azula-centric fanfic.

Disclaimer: The voice of Katara was created by Mae Whitman.

Author's notes:

This is one of my favourite chapters. Also, now you're not even trying to solve the divider. I don't think it's hard. Then again, I do have the solution...

But for now, let's get ready to rumble.

/ Another Duck

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Crimson and Azure

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Firebender versus waterbender. Two opposing elements. They both bowed according to their respective styles. Not surprisingly, Katara had chosen to stand close to the running water, while Azula stood some distance from it.

Being naturally the more aggressive fighter, the princess started with several fireballs. A wall of water easily blocked them, so she put some more power into them. Instead of wasting energy to block them as well, Katara pulled as much water as she could and created a pathway of ice she could skid around on. The moving opponent made Azula just think of target practise, so she sped up her relatively constant tossing of fire to where said opponent still had to parry some of the burning projectiles.

Firebenders were better at offence than defence; that was something Katara had learned. If she let Azula continue undisturbed it would lose her the battle in short time. Taking a round trip back to the stream she gathered a wave of water she let go towards the firebender. However, just as it was about to hit it froze into a large block solid ice, which was harder to repel.

The flame Azula had planned to vaporise the water with wasn't sufficient to destroy the frozen version of the attack so she jumped straight up, narrowly avoiding being crushed. An axe kick on the way down gave Katara something to think about as a rather large blast came towards her.

The water she willed up to defend her protected her from harm, but she was still thrown back from the force. Landing in the water, she found it easy to nullify further attacks. However, giving Azula time to plan her attacks was a bad idea. Multiple bursts of fire soon overwhelmed the waterbender, and it would've been the end of the dual, had she not been standing in so much readily available bending material.

Two huge, watery arms attached themselves to her regular ones and lashed the incoming fire till there was nothing left. Even if Azula knew what was coming, as it had happened before, she found that the waterbender had advanced enough to simply overpower her frantic throwing of fireballs. She managed to dodge one of the tentacles as it tried to grab her by swiftly jumping sideways and severing it halfway with a well-timed kick.

Katara found it easy to use the other arm to catch one of her opponent's. Seeing her starting to prepare a lightning bolt with the remaining arm made her put full strength into reanimating the previously cut off appendage and stopping the move before it finished. She succeeded at that, and lifted the princess high up in the air by her trapped arms.

It wasn't a wise choice. Electricity soon burned through the liquid channels and shocked her from her hands down to her feet. It hadn't taken a path through her heart, and a fleeting thought was if it had been luck or the firebender's skill that avoided it. Slumping down in pain, she swiftly covered her aching arms with water that immediately started glowing.

Azula let her recover. She knew she could've pushed forward, but she wasn't quite finished with the fight. There was more to draw from this, and a waterbender as powerful as Katara was an extremely dangerous opponent while standing in a steady flow of her own element. If she charged forward right now it would end the battle, but she wasn't sure she'd come out on top.

Katara raised her arms to just above horizontal, and a long row of bubbles levitated up from the stream. As she closed her fists, all of them froze to solid spheres of ice. To the firebender, who was watching cautiously, it was a little bit frightening, and a little bit exhilarating. This was going to take all of her skill to get out of in one piece.

Then they all were let loose. On instinct she picked out which projectiles to avoid, and which to just smash down. They weren't as hard as the rocks she had received from the Avatar upon the drill, but it still took some effort to deflect them. She wasn't going to be able to do that for a long time.

When she noticed they stopped coming for a second, she also noticed another row of the blasted orbs. She had to get the girl out of the water, or she'd be pummelled out of the fight. But at the moment, there was nothing to do but to dodge another wave of incoming globes. It was a time she was really glad to have a friend like Ty Lee who'd taught her a lot about acrobatics.

It still wasn't quite enough, however. After having dodged most of them, she stepped on a small shard of ice, which took away her balance, and an instant later, she felt something smash into her lower chest. A glance forward from her fallen position revealed a smirking waterbender who'd come much closer. She was going in for the kill.

Just managing to stand up, the princess was engulfed in a mass of water a moment after she took a deep breath. Even out of the stream, there was more than enough water in all the ice fragments scattered around the field for the waterbender to use. Azula was soon stuck in an all too familiar situation.

This time she had a collected mind, however, and knew what to do. She let out the breath she had taken. The water melted around her upper body, and as soon as she could move her arms, she dispersed it in a steaming cloud. It had taken its toll. She was on her knees and hands, panting to regain her breath.

Raising her head, she saw her opponent preparing to do the same thing again, but she wouldn't succeed this time. With only a split second to spare, Azula propelled herself high up in the air to avoid the wall of water. Levitating on the jets of fire from her feet, she turned around to fly towards her target, and half-way there, she somersaulted mid-air and threw all of the flames she had produced straight down, while she remained in the air herself.

Pulling some water to shield herself, Katara realised it wouldn't be enough to protect her for the enormous attack. However, it didn't hit her directly; it hit the wall of water she had planned to trap the firebender in. Still, it was fairly close to her, and the explosion evaporated all remaining water. The barrier took the brunt of the blast, but she was still thrown far and tumbled as she landed on the grass.

Seeing Azula land in front of her on one foot, a little distance away, and drawing lightning from the air made her just want to cover, but found no more water to aid her. The electricity never reached her. In the nick of time, it was all absorbed by Aang who had landed in between the two duellists. He gave Azula a cold stare.

"We were just sparring!" she protested while throwing her arms up in the air.

"Your lightning could kill her if it hit badly."

"No, it couldn't." He really frustrated her. The spar had been great fun for her, and now he came and ruined it. Yet, she knew it was a bad idea to make him mad, for several reasons. "Redirect it at me and I'll prove it to you." The glare she returned left no doubts about her feelings of his interference.

Aang wanted to think about it, but didn't have enough time to truly make up his mind. It wasn't like he could hold the lightning for any longer than the few seconds it took him to focus it into something he could control and guide out of his body.

Azula hadn't actually thought he would do it, with his ideals of not wanting to hurt anyone, so she was caught off guard when he did. The bolt hit her in the chest, shocking her thoroughly. Falling, she landed on her back and laid still for a short while, trying to gather her wits about her.

When she rose again, Aang thought she resembled a puppet with some of its strings cut off, and Katara immediately thought of the Agni Kai with Zuko. She was further reminded of that event when the princess took the exact same fighting stance with her fingers pointing roughly in their direction. It was obvious she was aware of what she looked like, and that she was well enough to make a joke at her own expense about it, even if Katara was the only one who could even get it.

"See? I'm fine." The coughs that followed weren't exactly encouraging, neither was how she limped towards them. "This is from the rest of the fight, not the lightning," she tried to assure the Avatar. Her hobble did get progressively better as she approached, but didn't go away completely.

"Why were you two fighting?"

"As Azula said, we were just sparring."

"Just sparring?" Aang countered incredulously. "You have bruises all over and burn marks on your arms, while Azula has a sprained ankle and probably a broken rib or two."

"Oh, it's definitely broken," the injured girl in question helpfully supplied as she gingerly sat down. "That was a good hit, Katara. We should do this again, sometime."

The waterbender gave the other girl a calculating look. There was a certain lack of concern for each other's safety that made the battle much more intense than a usual spar. It made adrenaline pump through her body, and it was much closer to a real fight than any spar she'd have with Aang or Toph. As far as practise went, it was rather effective.

"Sure, but let's not do it too soon."

"Are you two insane?" While his voice had calmed down somewhat, it was still rather accusing.

"Didn't I tell you I was the last time we met?" Azula, on the other hand, was beginning to feel quite pleased with herself. She had enjoyed herself, after all, despite the interruption.

Giving up on the two, he just walked away to meet up with the other two spectators to the duel, who had been keeping a safe distance.

Katara took a glance towards Sokka and turned back to Azula. "Before my brother comes here, what do you really think of him?"

"We're not a couple, if that's what you're asking. That was just his idea of a prank on you. The blind girl saw right through it."

"So he's still with Suki. I was worried that..."

"No. They broke up, but I don't know why. He gets cranky when I mention it, so I avoid it."

Katara noticed that Azula was also somewhat curt about it. "Oh. I should probably take it a little easy with Aang, then. I don't think Sokka would want to see us two if he's hurting. But you do care about him, then?"

"I suppose." It wasn't anything she had thought about. She generally didn't care about the people around her, other than the few friends she had. "He's been nice to me. He helped me without really needing to."

"Like giving you my clothes?" Her voice grew an edge, but it wasn't entirely hostile.

"Something happened to my old clothes." She shrugged. It wasn't something she was keen on explaining.

However, Katara noticed that, and pounced on it. She smelled a story behind it. "What happened to them?"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with."

"They got wet," Sokka supplied as he sat down beside them. "It's a funny story, actually." He'd left his bird back with the other animals. The two small ones weren't fighting as much as they used to, but still a little bit.

"If you value you life, you will shut up this instant."

He looked her straight in her eyes and considered his options. "I'll take my chances. You'd have four people against you, and you're hurt." Turning back to his sister, he began his tale. "I was walking home this fine day, and suddenly I saw this glider approaching me."

He didn't get further than that before Azula jumped on him and covered his mouth with her hand. However, trying to grapple with someone while injured and exhausted wasn't the best of her ideas, especially since she suspected said someone matched her in strength. The pain in her chest constrained her abilities, and she had only one foot to take proper leverage from, so she soon ended up below him with one arm twisted behind her back.

"Fine, you can tell your story if you just let me go." That really wasn't a blow to her ego she'd been prepared to take, especially with what Sokka was about to relay. As he did let her up she gave him a hard glare that was somewhat softened by her reddened face.

"As I was saying, I saw this glider flying straight at Needletop, and it crashed. I've seen Aang miss out on landings, and I've been on Appa when he fell asleep mid-flight, but this crash was far beyond that."

"It was actually one of my better landings," muttered Azula.

Katara raised an eyebrow towards the princess. "So my brother's exaggerating?"

Looking up into the air, she murmured, "Not necessarily."

This one time, the story teller decided to have mercy on his victim, and continued as if no one had said anything. She'd get far worse throw at her in just a minute anyway. "I saw the pilot tumbling and tumbling and tumbling down the back side of the mountain."

"The steep side?" asked Katara, knowing exactly which mountain he was talking about.

"Yes, the steep side. Eventually, I saw that it was our dear Azula here who was the pilot, and she was lying there right at my feet. Her eyes were swirling like..." An elbow to his side stopped him.

"I did not give you permission to ridicule me as well."

"But you _were_ ridiculous! You couldn't even stand up!"

"Either continue with your fairy tale, or stop. Preferably stop."

No hopes of that happening. "Well, being the nice guy I am, I walked her to our village, but she didn't want to play nice. She threatened me with the sword she carried, so naturally I had to challenge her."

Katara took a quick glance at Azula, who just rolled her eyes. It gave a fairly good measurement of what had actually happened. As usual, somewhere in between two versions. Now, if she only had both to compare with...

"And there we were, duking it out, all over the Bitterflow River, and you know what that's like, sis, all thin and slippery ice."

A nod was all she supplied him, but it was more than he needed. Once Sokka got going, he would keep on till the end.

"She was skidding back and forth with no control at all, while I expertly fended off all her attacks. Then, I saw my opening. I threw my boomerang, sadly inferior to Boomerang, may you rest in peace, high up in the air, and when it struck the ice, her days were numbered. Fear shone in her eyes as I smashed the ice open, and she fell down to her doom."

"You forgot the part where the horrible villain almost severed your arm, but spared you in the last second thanks to the kindness in her heart."

Katara found it hard to detect what kind of mood Azula was in. There was almost some humour in her voice, unless it was just spite. By the way Sokka told the story, she figured the latter was both likely and well deserved, but her brother was still left in one piece other than the elbow at the beginning.

"Right, I might have left some minor detail out, but anyway, thanks to the kindness in the hero's heart, I bravely dove into the water and fished the poor girl out."

"You didn't dive into the water."

This time, the waterbender found it much easier to determine how the princess felt. Her tone was dismissive of Sokka's claims, but there was also a mostly hidden gratitude in it. He had actually saved her life, and it warmed her heart, a heart Katara hadn't even been sure existed a day previously.

"Okay, I didn't dive in, but I got plenty wet anyway. I had to carry you to the village, and warm you up enough so you wouldn't die from the cold."

There was one thing Katara had never expected to see Azula do, and that was to avert her eyes. Not only did she do that, she also blushed. Then again, her pride could hardly be intact, or even remotely in one piece, after all Sokka had told. The waterbender wasn't sure she'd be able to stay and listen to it at all, had she been in that position herself.

"And finally, as the price for all the heroic deeds I did, I received this gift." He pulled out his very own space sword and showed it proudly to his sister.

"Wow, you got it back. I'm happy for you, Sokka." She'd give her brother a hug, but the sword in question was in the way, so she just gave him a wide smile instead.

"Now, wasn't that a great story?"

"No." There was more ice in her voice than what she'd melted during the fight. "Katara, will you please heal my wounds so I can kill your brother?"

"You don't make sense to me," Katara said bluntly as she started to work on their wounds. "This new you is disconcerting. When your brother wanted to join our gang, I was furious at him since he'd betrayed me before when I trusted him. With you it was always easy to just assume you were lying all the time anyway, but now you're completely different, and you go from hot to cold and back again in a heartbeat, so I don't know where to place you."

"_I_ don't know where to place me. Everything is as new to me as it is to you. You're not acting as I expect either. All of you are so friendly, and I don't deserve it."

Sokka took that moment to cut in with something that wasn't mockery. "It means you're developing a conscience, Azula."

"What?" His comment came from nowhere she could deduce. There were two pieces that simply didn't fit together without several others between them. "What's that got to do with my conscience?"

"You said you feel that you don't deserve people being nice to you, right?"

"Yes," she answered, unsure of where he was going.

"That's your conscience. You know you've done some immoral things, so you feel you deserve to be punished for it."

"Huh. I never thought about it that way. I guess I do have a conscience after all." She felt her shirt being lifted up as Katara tried to get access to her wounded side. Trying to see how bad it was, she arched her head forward, but the healer pushed her down on her back so she would lie still. Sokka took that as his cue to leave, being unsure of how much privacy they wanted.

"This might hurt a bit. I have to make sure your ribs are in the right position before I do anything to heal them."

The princess didn't pay much attention to it. She was more concentrated on what her new-found virtue felt like. It made her feel warm inside, although not quite as hot as Sokka had made her cheeks feel. That hadn't made sense to her at all. There was a sharp pain to the lower side of her chest. Why would she even let him continue as he did? Normally she would kill, or at least maim someone who talked like that.

"I'm done. How does it feel?"

"Hmm? Oh." She put a little pressure on it with her hand. "A little sore, but nothing I've not felt before."

"You know, one of the things that didn't make sense to me is why you barely did anything against my brother just now. You looked like you were going to kill him, but you didn't."

"You're not the only one who's confused about that." She paused briefly to consider how to put it in words. "He's not a bender, so it doesn't seem like he has much to be proud of in combat. I didn't want take away what he had, even if it was against me. I know I can recover from far worse than a fall of pride, but he's still recovering from the loss of his girlfriend. I almost didn't recover from a similar loss. I know what it's like."

"Don't discount him because he can't bend. He's done some amazing things, in particular with a boomerang."

"I don't. It's just that he wouldn't stand a chance had I actually used any fire against him. I know I can beat pretty much anyone in the world in a straight duel, so I don't _need_ the pride. But he can't. I guess I wanted to give him that."

"What was in it for you, if you're sacrificing your pride for someone else?"

"That's what I don't know. All my life I've motivated my actions with what would benefit me, even if it was just a bit of fun or curiosity. Even the journey I'm on now falls into that. It's all to become a great and powerful person who isn't insane. But right now, I can't figure out even one thing I gained from it that was worth the pain."

"What if it's the same as what he said before, that you're punishing yourself by giving yourself what you feel you deserve?"

Azula gave it some thought. "It makes sense, but that's not it. I wasn't considering how it would affect me, other than that I knew I could handle it."

"It's just as you said, then. A gift to him. Do you think he deserved it?"

It really was that simple. She wanted to smile and kick herself at the same time for not realising it earlier. There was compassion within her that didn't need her to gain something from everything she did. Despite her well developed skills in reading people's emotions, she still had trouble with her own. It was just like social interaction. She had the wrong approach to that too, something she wasn't quite proud of.

"You really do care. Are you falling in love with him?"

The question stupefied her enough to hide any shock from it. Luckily, the benumbment also prevented her from protesting too wildly, which would've been her natural response when she wasn't balanced enough to use her normal mask. It came straight out of the blue, so she didn't know what to answer at first. She wasn't, as far as she could tell, but a straight no didn't seem like the right answer either. "I don't feel any butterflies when he's around, but I trust him."

That was something Katara knew the significance of. They hadn't met for a long time that day, but at the Agni Kai, she had picked up on the extreme paranoia Azula exhibited. Trusting someone was almost an impossibility then, and if she was learning to trust, she was healing. To her, it was probably more meaningful than falling in love, so the two were easily mixed up.

A change of subject was appropriate, as this wasn't something to push. "So, what did you do to earn that story? He's not usually _that_ happy to embarrass someone."

"Let's see... I've ridiculed his cooking, his sewing, tried to kill him, experimented with new lightning techniques on him and... no, I think that was all, unless you count coaxing a duel out of him."

The way she presented the list of things made Katara laugh. Besides, she knew of his skill with thread and needle, which was hilarious in itself.

"What is it with you two anyway? You're born in a nation of ice, and yet you've got so warm hearts. I'm born in a nation of fire, and my heart might as well be of ice."

"Don't worry," Katara reassured her. "Your heart is thawing."

She had to agree with that. There were feelings within her she wasn't too familiar with, but she knew them to be gentle. "Maybe it is. I need a moment to think. And rest. That battle was tiring after a day's walk."

"I'll go to the others." Rising up, she started to walk away.

"Katara?" Her hesitation was only slight. "Thank you."

"What for?"

"A lot of things. Bringing me back to sanity. Not hating me. Fighting me. Healing everyone who was hurt because of me."

"You're welcome. Get some rest."

She took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. She was comfortable, so there was no reason to go elsewhere.

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Author's notes:

Thus ends the twelfth chapter of the story. Another fight, and a retelling of the fight with the other sibling. The first was interesting to write, and the second hilarious. I'm hoping reading them will be at least of equal pleasure. I've always wanted to see a one-on-one battle between Katara and Azula, since they do seem to be evenly matched when they clash in the series, and while I can't do the animated series justice, I did my best in text.

/ Another Duck


	13. Younger Master

The Story of the Moral

An Azula-centric fanfic.

Disclaimer: The episode, "The Ember Island Players" was written by Tim Hedrick, Josh Hamilton and Josh O'Bryan, and directed by Giancarlo Volpe.

Author's notes:

Aww, don't give up trying to crack the divider... This one is even in a standardised code.

/ Another Duck

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Younger Master

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Something sat down on Azula's bare stomach. Something small. It tickled a bit. Opening her eyes, she saw it was the winged lemur the gang kept as a pet. In his hands, he was holding a spoon that he offered to her. Taking it, she let him jump up to her shoulder as she rose up to see what the others were up to. As she figured, they were just about to eat.

She walked over to them to see bowls of some kind of soup being passed around. "Please tell me Sokka didn't cook."

"Hey! I'm not that bad!"

"You sure proved me wrong back then."

"I cooked," Katara informed her. "Here."

Azula took the last bowl from her and sniffed it. It didn't smell bad at all. Tasting a spoon of it, she found it actually tasted better than it smelled, so she sat down to eat.

"It's so nice to see all of you again," Aang began, although he was exchanging glances with Katara in particular, then corrected himself when the one who didn't quite belong coughed softly. "You just keep eating and pretend you're your brother."

Squinting with her right eye, she told him in a somewhat masculine voice, "I don't have time for this. I must capture the Avatar and regain my honour!"

"That's a lousy impression of him."

"How could you say that?" After reciting the line in monotone mock anger, she continued eating in silence.

Katara snickered, but coughed when no one else was. "Yes, it's nice to see some familiar faces. Sokka, you're an annoying brother, but I've missed you."

"I need to get back to my parents soon. I don't want them to think I've run away again."

"You're leaving already?"

"I'm not leaving. I'm already home. Just tell me when you're ready for any more training. I want to see my pupil bend metal before I grow old." By means of demonstration, she made her spoon bend. "What are the rest of you planning to do?"

"I was thinking of getting back home to meet some people," the waterbender said.

"There aren't many people there right now," her brother explained. "Most of them went to celebrate with the Northern Tribe. They're going to hold some festival there in a week or two."

That was good news to her. It wasn't often the Water Tribes met. "That sounds like a lot of fun. Let's all go there!"

Toph immediately baulked at the idea. "Count me out. I'm staying on solid ground."

"I'm not sure I want to go back there. We'll see." Sokka apparently wasn't in his best moods.

"What about you, Aang? Are you coming with me, or are you going to continue meditating?"

"No, I'm done with that for now, so we'll be there when it starts. Until then, I'm going to focus more on my bending. Roku didn't stop training under his masters until he surpassed them. I've not surpassed any of my masters yet."

"So, who're you going to surpass first, Twinkletoes? Me, Katara, or Zuko?"

"I was thinking Zuko. He couldn't learn lightningbending before, but I think that my Avatar training will help a lot with that."

"Did you finally convince Iroh to teach you?" asked Sokka. He knew the old man was reluctant to train now that the war was over.

"Nope, I don't need him."

"You're going to learn it on your own?"

"That was my first plan, but a better option turned up."

"What option? Who could possibly..." A pause. "Oh."

All eyes turned towards Azula, but she was completely unaffected by their gazes.

"I like this soup. Can I have some more, please?" Katara reflexively took her bowl and refilled it.

"You're going to teach Aang how to lightningbend?"

"Yes. Is that a problem? My brother isn't the only one who can teach an Avatar how to bend fire."

"No, no." Sokka held up his hands in defence. "I just didn't think you'd be interested in teaching him."

"It's only natural that the Avatar would learn from the best firebender in the world," she stated as if nothing was more obvious. "Okay, second best, but my uncle won't teach."

"When do we start?" Aang asked, eager to begin.

"I need to finish eating. You can go sit in the middle of the clearing and meditate. Empty your mind. Focus your breathing."

"Yes, master." He bowed, and was on his way to do as she had instructed.

"Hmm. Master. I could get used to that." The thought stayed with her as she finished her meal.

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"Are you ready to begin, Avatar?"

Azula was sitting in front of him, cross-legged. The others were watching with various levels of interest a little bit away.

"I am. I think you're a worthy teacher. You and Katara were fighting here for a while, but there's no charred grass at all. You may think of yourself as cruel, but you don't harm what you don't need to."

"A part of me I've previously neglected grew up. Besides, it's wasteful to spend energy on what you don't need. Defeating the grass would gain me nothing."

"I wish I had that control when I was first taught firebending." He looked down at the ground for a few seconds, but then returned his eyes towards his new master.

"Lightning, just as fire, demands proper control of your breathing. You can create lightning all you want, but without good technique, you won't be able to focus and direct it the way you want. Also, to draw lightning from the air, you need to have a very focused mind. Clear your mind from emotions, and detach yourself from the world."

"That will be hard. As the Avatar, I'm connected to the world more than any other being. To disconnect myself from the world would mean to disconnect myself from who I am."

She considered that for a while. "Other than just being talented with firebending, I had another advantage. My lack of conscience helped me a lot to block out all unwanted thoughts. That's what allowed me to still use lightning when I was insane and raging. I didn't have the same control, but I could do it. I was taught that way, through proper theory and focus before starting on the actual bending."

"I was never good at learning bending like that. Strict lessons about how it works are dull. I've found it much easier to just go by feeling, and listen to what feels natural."

"I know what you mean. I preferred that too, so I think we're going to get along. Okay, let's try another method. Can you feel the energy in the air and within you?"

He closed his eyes and concentrated. "A little, I think. I'm not sure it's the right thing I'm feeling."

Drawing two fingers through the air between them, she created a few sparks. "Do you feel that?"

"Yes."

"Focus on it. Imagine how nothing exists except you, and the energy. All else just falls into the background. Remember how it feels." Pausing while he examined it, she noted that he was breathing calmly as she had told him. It was something she assumed he was good at, even at such young age. Impatient, perhaps, but he had mastered the Avatar state. That had to require spiritual equilibrium.

They sat still for a few minutes, Aang being completely still aside from his chest, and Azula waiting patiently for him to tell her when he was ready to move on.

"I feel like I can almost touch it now."

She smiled. "Good. To generate lightning, you have to separate the yin from the yang. I could tell you how exactly that creates lightning, but it's probably better that you try for yourself so you can feel what's happening. Just take two fingers like this." Just as she told him, she held up her fingers like she usually did while bending. "And draw them through the air, disparting yin from yang." A steel blue streak followed her movement and ended up sparking around her hand.

Trying to do exactly as she described, Aang touched the energies he felt before, and tried to split them. As he did so, nothing happened.

"Touch the energy, and make sure you can feel it with your fingers. Don't try to move on until you do."

Again, he held up his hand and waved it slowly back and forth. Eventually, he seemed to touch something, before firmly drawing his digits through the air. There were nothing visible, not even a flicker, but the air did turn static.

"That was pathetic, but you did succeed. It's more effective if you make circular motions, and naturally, the longer arcs you make. Come, stand up." They both stood up. "Zuko taught you how to direct lightning, right?"

"Yes. It's part of Iroh's technique to counter it. Did you ever learn that one?"

"No, but it doesn't seem difficult. I've never had the opportunity to try. Anyway, focus on the energy. Remember how to divide it. Follow my lead." Drawing a long semi-circle with her fingers, she ended it in front of her, crackling of electricity.

Aang did the same, this time with better success. It wasn't as intense as Azula's, but it definitely had some power in it. They both let it go against a nearby mountain.

"It takes a lot of practise to be able to do it in the middle of a battle, but now you know the basics, and after only a few tries. I'm actually impressed."

"Thank you, master." Praise from her wasn't something he'd expected, so he took it mean more than he would from anyone else.

"Now, try hit me with it. I'll try to redirect it."

"Are you sure? Zuko said it is dangerous."

"Aang, I'm experienced with it. I know what I can handle, and you're not quite past that point just yet." Walking away to a comfortable distance, she turned back to him. "Whenever you're ready."

Again, he repeated the technique. It was just a little bit stronger than his last attempt, and he fired it towards his teacher. His aim left a lot to be desired, as it hit a step away from her. Folding her arms, she tsked at him. Like with the first lesson, his second try was better, and it struck her dead on.

Azula had seen how much energy Aang had released in his attack, and knew it was relatively safe for her. She also knew how to hold onto a charge, and planned to do something similar. Still, it wasn't anything she'd done before, so she was a little tense, but not in a negative way.

When the bolt came, she raised her her fingers in a sort of reversed motion compared to normal, and accepted the electricity into her body. She knew the chakra of fire was located in the stomach, and that it was the source of normal firebending, so she directed the force there. It had the added benefit of avoiding the heart, which was very vulnerable to lightning.

Since this was more one of Zuko's moves than her own, she decided to keep going along that trend. Performing a low, sweeping kick, she expelled the electricity in a circular motion that continued around her when she dropped down to stand on her hands with both her legs rotating over a full revolution before she stood up again.

"I didn't know you could do it that way."

"Me neither," she admitted. "I kind of expected the lightning to stop at my shoes and fry me from there. I don't think it would work with my regular shoes, though. Metal doesn't work well with lightning."

He gave her a stern look and folded his arms. "I didn't expect you to be this reckless either."

"You don't become as good as I am by just playing it safe. But if we're done talking, you need to practise more. Fire as many times as you can against me."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, just stop if I fall down. If I am to train you, I want to get some exercise in myself."

Taking her word for it, he began repeating the motions multiple times. Unlike before, he didn't get better at a fast rate, although the strength of his bolts still increased slightly every time he generated them. Being unused to it, he was tiring, but by that time, he wondered how much Azula had absorbed. Not once had she let out the electricity she received, and he had lost count of how many times he'd hit her. She was beginning to look very strained, though, so he checked how she was doing between each round.

Eventually, still standing up, her arms slumped down and she staggered drunkenly, but still maintained her concentration. Taking a steady, wide-legged stance with her arms protectively crossed in front of her chest, she focused briefly before numerous arcs of lightning emerged from her body and hit the ground around her.

Aang had to jump back to avoid being hit, even if he was standing a fair distance away. The others were far enough away, but they all felt the static in the air. The smell of lightning was immense, and didn't dissipate quickly as it usually did when Azula used lightning.

The girl at the centre of the discharge fell to her hands and knees, panting heavily. "Aang. What do you say..." She took another breath. "we take a break now?"

"Sure, I was getting tired anyway," he responded dismissively. "Are you okay? You look... burnt."

Now that she were aware of it, she noticed several holes in her clothes. The skin underneath was undamaged, and she didn't see any indecently placed gaps. She would still be required to change back to her regular outfit.

She flashed him a blithe smile. "That's what happens if you don't control the lightning when you release it. I would advice you don't try it."

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Author's notes:

Thus ends the thirteenth chapter of the story. Not much actually happens here, but originally this and the next chapter were one. I thought the length was better this way. I'll have to admit that I'm not completely satisfied with some of the dialogue, but I can't figure out exactly what is wrong with it.

Writing Azula as a reckless trainer is fun, and I think it suits her. I don't think she'd become as good as she did if she hadn't taken risks while training. Also, pretty much all great people of great achievements are curious. The lack of pressure and a not quite stable mind would likely make her take more chances, in particular as safety isn't something she's concerned with in the first place.

/ Another Duck


	14. Colourful

The Story of the Moral

An Azula-centric fanfic.

Disclaimer: The metal Sokka is referring to is most likely copper.

Author's notes:

Not so many reviews last chapter, but then again, that's not why I write. They still help, though.

You also get another clue on the code.

/ Another Duck

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Colourful

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It was getting dark, and they were sitting around the camp fire. The fact that it was blue was a little disconcerting to a few of them. Azula, lying on her stomach and thinking about getting some sleep, was the cause of it, so she just found it pleasant. Sokka, lying next to her on his back trying to sleep right there and then, was the other person who was comfortable with it.

Sitting across from her, Aang was trying to get his mind off of it. "Do you know any firebending that doesn't have to do with battle?"

"Flying." It was definitely her favourite.

"Anything that doesn't burn all of us up if you show it?"

There were some breathing techniques, like warming yourself, but that wasn't something to show off with. It did give her an idea, though. "Give me a cup of water." As Katara handed her one, she rose up to sit. "Any competent firebender can heat up something like this." As she held the container, it slowly started to stir a little, then began to boil. "It isn't very hard."

"I'm going to try that tomorrow. I think I know how it works."

"Well, if that's too easy for you, maybe you can try this instead." This time she concentrated harder and closed her eyes. When she calmly breathed out, the air turned to flame, blue, naturally. It took a little while, but eventually she was satisfied. "It takes a very skilled firebender to do this." Turning the cup upside down, the water fell out in one solid piece of ice. "It's somewhat similar to redirecting lightning, actually."

"I've never seen you do that before," Sokka told her.

"I haven't had much use for heat redirection, so I've only ever done it while practising"

"No, not that. Breathe fire. It's almost like you're a blue-fire dragon."

"Azula, the Blue Dragon," whispered Aang to himself, just almost below hearing volume.

"What was that?" That exact phrasing was familiar to her, and it wasn't from long ago.

"Nothing!"

"You know something, don't you."

"Who, me?"

"Yes, you, Avatar." She glared at him for a bit, remembering what had happened during her meeting with the actual blue dragon. "You set that up," she concluded. It seemed reasonable. If he had connections in the spirit world, he could probably get in touch with the dragons for his Avatar things, whatever they were.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"In all my studies in history, I've never heard of dragons that talk."

"You must be mistaken. So, um, can you teach me how to make blue fire?"

The implications of that made her cool down a bit, and she decided to let the previous subject drop. It wasn't as if it mattered at this point. It had helped her regain her bending abilities, so she couldn't really complain. "Probably, if you're talented enough. But I won't." Her voice was a little sad, almost regretful. "Among other things, I based it on an emotion you don't want to have."

"So the colour of the fire is tied to your emotions?"

"In part. I don't know exactly, but it's not quite as simple as emotions. You have to alter your mental state as well. My blue fire comes from something I know you wouldn't be comfortable with."

"Do you feel like that all the time?"

"Not so much the last week. But by now it's such a big part of me that I just continue using it. I wouldn't be myself without my blue fire."

"Can you make any other colours?"

"I never thought about if there were any more." There was something about what he said that made her realise she had a lot more to learn than she thought, and that he knew more than he let on. It made the idea of different colours much more interesting. What if she could learn to use all the colours of the rainbow? Now that was a suitable ability for the best firebender in the world. "Did the old masters show you that?"

"Yeah. Red, yellow, white, and even green and purple."

The flame between them turned a deep red, then gradually lightened up towards a bright yellow. "Those are all I learned. The red and yellow colours are more natural than blue, so they're much easier. I imagine green and purple would be harder."

"I've seen green fire," chimed Sokka in with. "I don't remember what it's made of, but the powder of some kind of metal burns green. The Mechanist showed me that once."

"Try to make a pink fire. I'd love to see that."

"You'd love to see at all, Toph."

The girl in question stuck out her tongue at Sokka for that comment.

Azula, on the other hand, considered the request. "I know what else is pink. I wonder..." trailing off, she stared into the fire for a while. Quietly, she started to hum a happy tune.

"You wonder what, and what are you humming?" The Avatar got his answer a little bit afterwards. The fire turned into a reddish pink. "How did you do that?" he asked, amazed.

She gave him a smile, and a quite bubbly one at that. "You see, Ty Lee always claims her aura is pink. I tried to see if the same thing applied to fire. Apparently, it did, and it made such a cute flame." At the last comment, the colours changed to a much brighter pink, something the acrobat would've been very proud of.

"You even sound like her," remarked Katara.

"Well, I had to put myself in the same emotional state she usually is in."

"I thought you weren't in touch with your emotions?"

He was right, so it didn't really bother her, and she managed to keep her sunny disposition. The fact he brought up actually made it easier, as there was less to distract her. "Don't jibe me. It takes all of my concentration to do this. If I try to wrangle with you I'm going to lose it. I think I can channel my emotions into the fire to make it change colour, though. I just have to focus very hard on it."

"Hmm, isn't envy green?" asked Sokka. "Can you try that?"

"How? I'm so perfect I don't have anything to envy." Just as she said that, the flames went back to their previous blue.

He decided to ignore the light self-irony in her tone, and give her a few helpful suggestions. "The Avatar can control more elements than you can. I'm better than you with a sword. Ty Lee is prettier than you. Zuko is the Fire Lord and you're not." Stopping when the blue gave way to a bright crimson, he turned to look at the object of his taunts.

Her fierce look didn't even faze him as he analysed the situation.

"You're envious that you're not the Fire Lord?"

The fire once more went back to a more normal blue. Normal for her, anyway. "No. That was actually the least offensive."

"What was the most offensive?"

"You."

"So you're jealous of my sword skills?"

"No, stupid. That was more of an insult than something I envy."

"Well, what I want to know is why you compared Azula to Ty Lee," stated Toph. "Isn't there some other girl you think is prettier?"

Without moving to face anyone, he explained. "It's much easier to be jealous of one of your friends than some girl you don't know. If I wanted Azula to feel envy, that's who I had to compare her to."

The flame shifted towards red again while maintaining some of the light blue colour. "Wow, I'm almost impressed by your underhanded reasoning. You thought up all that just to hurt my feelings?"

"Are you hurt?"

She thought he sounded apologetic. It made her a little uncomfortable, since he wasn't supposed to feel sorry about her. Outwards, she shrugged dismissively. If she distracted him with a compliment, he would maybe forget about it.

"A little. I was trying to feel envy, after all, and it's not a pleasant feeling. You're going to become a good manipulator one day."

He was caught off guard, but recovered faster than she'd hoped. "So you don't mind me manipulating you?"

"Don't push it." At least it was better than before. People trying to manipulate her she could handle, although right now they'd probably succeed. While focusing all her concentration on channelling her emotions into the fire, she couldn't keep up her usual walls to hide behind.

"I wonder what embarrassment would give for colour."

"I'm not doing that!" Truth was, she was already feeling some of it because of what she feared he'd tell, and it made the fire become a rather normal yellow with some darker, reddish streaks.

"You concentrate on your fire, and I'll tell my story." He had a bit of finality in his voice, as if he didn't really consider her words. It made her temper, as well as the flames, rise a little.

"No, you most certainly will not! That story lives and dies with you, literally." Still concentrating on the fire, she didn't quite manage her usual threatening tone.

"It's a good thing you don't need me to tell it, then. Just imagine it and focus on what you feel."

"Oh, come on, I want to hear it!" Toph imagined she'd hear it eventually anyway, but this was just much more fun.

"Yeah, me too." Apparently, the Avatar agreed.

"Toph, Aang, I won't tell it if she doesn't want me to. But then she has to try this."

Azula was glad she didn't have to kill him to keep quiet. She didn't think she could stand _that_ all over again. However, she was actually quite curious about what colours she could make the flame turn into. Yes, she had to have her emotions open and her walls down, but you didn't become a master by playing it safe, did you?

"Fine, I'll do this one."

Lying down again, she cleared her mind of any distractions, then started to think about the way Sokka had told the story, and how it made her feel. It wasn't very pleasant, and she knew it made her blush, but she also knew the others was aware of why, so the public display wasn't too awful. The flame went brighter, less orange but still yellow. That was apparently what embarrassment gave.

When she reached the part where he had dragged her up and out of the water, she noticed a faint flicker of green. Intrigued, she examined what feeling had caused it. Luckily, her prying thoughts didn't affect the fire, and slowly, it went a few shades towards lime.

"So embarrassment does give a vaguely green colour."

"No, that was the yellow one." Due to the strain on her emotions, her voice was monotone, but breaking slightly. She was reaching the limit of her abilities.

"What's this, then?"

She considered keeping the secret for herself. It would spare her own feelings, but on the other hand, locking her emotions up was part of why she lost her mind before. "Gratitude," she whispered just loud enough for the group to hear. The flames flickered as the toil was beginning to wear her out and she knew her temper had more tension than a bowstring.

That's when she noticed Sokka rolling to his side towards her. He was very close to her, much too close for comfort, and was about to say something into her ear. "Choose your words wisely," she warned him. "I'm tired, and about to burst from the stress this causes me. If you as much as poke me in the wrong way I will blow up on you."

Aang watched the scene both with the same interest Azula displayed in learning new things about firebending, and with some apprehension. He was fairly certain Sokka didn't want to seriously hurt her, but there was also a notion of change in him since last they saw each other. He was more aggressive in his mockery, and he had a darker edge to his personality. Was all this because Suki had left him, and he projected that towards Azula, or did he actually have more of a problem with her than what he made it appear to be?

He saw Azula's eyes widen and the colour of her face turn into an almost scarlet shade of red. There was no way of telling if she was angry or embarrassed, but she was definitely surprised. The camp fire suddenly switched to a clear green and very intense flame that scared Momo away, before winking out completely. Soon after, Azula rose up and left the group in silence.

"What did you say to her?" asked Toph.

He sighed deeply and rolled to where Azula had lied, leaning his forehead on his arms and covering his face. "Nothing wise."

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Author's notes:

Thus ends the fourteenth chapter of the story. I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Azula experimenting with herself as a test subject is just too amusing. This time, it did burn her quite badly, although exactly how you'll have to see later.

I don't know if it's ever stated how the different colours of the flames are made, but Azula is the only one I've seen with that colour. Even the dragons didn't use any blue fire. Since emotions does affect bending I thought it appropriate to go with this.

The link to Ty Lee's aura also felt very natural, but it's also the only actual reference I have to what emotion brings what colour. Everything else is made up. In many other fictional worlds, the aura is drawn as a fire around the character if it's any more than just a bright outline.

I just realised. This is the chapter you'll have in your mind over Christmas. Poor you, having to have that sorta-cliffhanger. Merry Christmas, everyone!

/ Another Duck


	15. Change of Pace, Change of Peace

The Story of the Moral

An Azula-centric fanfic.

Disclaimer: Azula does not suffer from insanity. She enjoys every minute of it.

Author's notes:

To answer the most popular question, yes, you'll find out what Sokka said. Although you'll probably have to read between the lines. But that won't be difficult. This time I can say that no one has guessed right, but I won't say if that happens later or not.

Since I want you to actually solve the divider sooner or later, I'll just come out and give you the final clue. It's Morse. Now it can't be too hard.

/ Another Duck

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Change of Pace, Change of Peace

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No one saw Azula until afternoon the next day, and by the time she showed up, Toph had already gone to see her parents again. Aang had been practising on his lightningbending, and was getting the hang of it. Being the Avatar really helped him with that, both with pure talent, and with the mental exercises that came with it.

"Hey, Azula!" He was glad to see her, a prospect still new to him, although it didn't weird him out any more. She wasn't the enemy, and hadn't been for a while now.

"Greetings, Avatar. Show me what you have been practising on."

The change of tone from the previous day made him pause, but he did his best to bend a bolt of lightning. From what happened that evening, she probably had a good reason. However, Sokka refused to talk about it, only going as far as saying it was a mistake. Thinking about the situation had one consequence he failed to take into account.

"That was pathetic. It was worse than you did yesterday. Focus your mind. _Focus_."

While she put more anger in her scolding than she had to, she was actually glad for the situation. It allowed her to focus her own mind on something she enjoyed. Sokka's mind games wasn't something she wanted to dwell on at the moment. She'd done enough of that while she was away.

It wasn't hard for Aang to follow Azula's commands. After all, it was something she was quite good at. She may not have been in a good mood, but she took training seriously. Her authoritative voice made it easy to concentrate on the task. His next attempt was much better, almost on pair with what he'd done before.

"That was not too awful. There are a few things you need to work on. Your form has to be smoother and more distinct. You lose energy the way you do it. Watch."

She swept her arms in a somewhat erratic arc, drawing lightning as she usually did. Once she'd fired a medium bolt off, she turned to the Avatar. "That's how you did it. Now this is how you should do it."

The next time she did the same movement it was sharp and swift. The difference wasn't huge, but to someone who could appreciate perfection, there were significant flaws in the former technique. Likewise, the electricity she let go the second time was more luminous, lasted longer, and cracked louder.

"Do you understand?"

"I do. What were the other things I needed to work on?"

"If you do this right, most of the rest will follow naturally. One thing you can do after practise. I will tell you then."

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The drilling continued for over an hour. Compared to before, Azula was more observant on any faults Aang made, or at least more vocal about them. While harsh, she made him improve on the imperfections he had. It was the sort of practise you lost yourself in. Nothing existed outside it.

Also unlike the previous time, she opted not to train with him as she had done before. Katara had recommended the princess to take it easy for the next few days, at the very least, until her injury would be less of a problem. After all, she wanted it healed as quickly as possible. Still, watching someone else practise made her want to do it as well.

Aang was getting tired, while Azula didn't seem to take much notice of it at all. "I need a break now."

"The enemy will not let you rest. Stamina is one of the most important qualities a firebender can have. If you tire before your opponent, you will lose. When you are not in danger, your mind will tell you to stop before your body is tired. If you always listen to that, you will not reach excellence."

She wasn't a nice teacher, but he hadn't expected her to be either, especially while she was in a bad mood. Most of the time she seemed rather aloof, but at the same time, her intentions was definitely to make him learn as much as possible, as quickly as possible, including the quality of what he learned. While she was quick to let her displeasure be known, she always told him why, and what he should do to improve it. She was also hard to disagree with.

He decided to endure for a little while longer, so they continued for a little bit.

"Now I really do need a break."

This time, she agreed with him, and nodded.

"What was it you said I should practise on now?"

"You are not focused. There is something that bothers you. It did not disturb your training, but you will be hindered in a real battle if you do not clear it up."

"There's something odd about the spirit world. It makes me uneasy."

"That is nothing I can help you with."

She was just about to walk away from him to some lonely place when he opened his mouth again.

"Azula?"

She stopped, but didn't say anything.

"I appreciate you teaching me and all, I really do, but there's something else that's bothering me. What is it with you today? What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong with me. Now leave me be."

Knowing get no further with her, he went towards the mountainside, intending to meditate on the other problem.

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A little less than an hour later, the group minus Aang was eating dinner. No one spoke other than the occasional comment from Katara to break the uncomfortable silence. Azula was trying to ignore Sokka, something that was made much easier since he returned the favour with gusto.

The missing member of the gang arrived at a hurried pace.

"Guys, we need to leave now. Pack everything so we can head and pick up Toph."

"What's the rush?"

"I'll explain when we're all gathered, but we're heading for Ba Sing Se."

It took them only a few minutes to get everything loaded on Appa, including Katara giving Aang the meal he hadn't eaten. Since he was busy with the food, Sokka took the reins instead.

The Bei Fong estate wasn't far away, being located at the outskirts of Gaoling. Aang jumped off before Appa even landed next to the quite large building. The rest of them decided to stay, as it only took one person to fetch their friend.

Lao, Toph's father, answered within a few seconds after Aang had knocked on the door.

"Oh, greetings, Avatar Aang. It is an honour."

"Hello, Mr. Bei Fong. I'm afraid I won't be staying, and I need your daughter's help with something."

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to forbid that. She has recently fallen ill, and I do not want her to do anything that could make her worse. She needs to rest."

"Oh." This was bad news. They needed all the fire power they could get, and the blind girl would've been especially useful in this situation. "Can I still see her?"

"Of course; you are her friend." He led him to Toph's room, where her mother was busy taking care of her daughter.

"Hey, Twinkletoes, glad you could come for a visit."

At least she was happy. Happier than she was the day before, he noted. "Hello, Toph. How are you?"

"I've been better. What's up?"

"We're leaving for Ba Sing Se, and we're a little bit in a hurry. I was hoping you'd come with us, but if you're sick, you probably shouldn't."

"Aww, you're going out on adventures without me now?"

"I'm sorry."

"Nah, I'm fine. You go on and have fun. Just make sure you practise regularly."

"I will. Get well, Toph."

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"Alright, Appa, old buddy, let's head to Ba Sing Se." Jumping up to sit beside Sokka, the Avatar took the reins. Not that it was strictly needed, considering the intelligence of the huge animal, but it did make the two feel a little closer. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to fly as quickly as you can to the city. You can rest when we arrive, but we must get there as soon as we can, or the whole city may go under."

Needing no further encouragement, the sky bison took off. Though he could not talk, he understood what Aang said, and prepared himself for a long flight. He had gotten plenty of rest the last day, so he was capable of travelling quite far without any more rest. Other than sleeping breaks, he could probably fly all the time.

"No Toph?" asked Sokka.

"She's fallen ill, and couldn't join us."

"But she was all right just yesterday! Did her parents tell you that?" They had treated her like a porcelain doll before, he thought, so they could do it again.

"They didn't lie about it." Aang's voice was solemn, yet determined. Whatever the problem was, it had him spooked out. "I met her."

"Oh. I hope she'll get better. So, anyway, why was it we're travelling across the Earth Kingdom now again?"

"Azula, you remember how I was worried about the spirit world before?"

"Indeed. Did someone in Ba Sing Se do something bad to that realm?"

"No, the other way around. There's a spirit loose in the city."

"We're going spirit hunting again? Will this turn out anything like that panda beast thingy we met before?"

"Worse. It's Koh."

"Wait, Koh, the Face Stealer?" asked Katara, disturbed at the mention of the name. "The same spirit who told you about La and Tui?"

"Yes."

"What is so bad about this spirit?" Being that she'd never really spoken with anyone who was experienced with those beings, Azula didn't know much about the subject, let alone who this particular spirit was.

"If you show him any emotion at all, he'll steal your face. He's also one of the most ancient and powerful of spirits."

"I can see why you wanted the blind earthbender with us. But we can still just blast him away. We have the most powerful benders of three elements in our ranks. Do you not think that will be enough?"

"I don't know how bending affects him. Bending doesn't work in the spirit world, so he might also have powers that only work here. For all I know, he could be an extremely powerful bender."

"So the only thing you can say with certainty is that we cannot show him any emotion?"

"Correct."

"I can do that." No one really doubted Azula's word on that. "How fast is this thing?"

Appa growled.

Aang took offence to her question as well. "His name is Appa, and he can hear you."

He did react to what she said, so she didn't exactly need any more convincing. "I was not aware that you were intelligent, Appa."

The growl he gave in return was much softer than before, so she assumed he took it as an apology.

"We'll get there in three or four days, if he can fly all the time," Aang explained. "We need to stop at least once."

"Very well. Aang, Katara, you two get some sleep now. We need to be fully rested to stand as good chance as possible against Koh. Sokka, wake us if anything happens. Try to think about any plans we can use."

"Good luck, buddy." Leaving Sokka alone on Appa's head, Aang climbed back to get some rest next to his girlfriend.

The non-bender of the group wasn't particularly happy with Azula's orders, but seeing as the other two followed them, there was little room to complain. He knew she valued his skills as less than a bender's, but he was a little surprised that she'd ask him to come up with some plans. She didn't seem to say it just to make him feel useful. However, he didn't know much about the spirit either, so planning ahead would be hard, if at all possible.

As it was late in the evening, he was getting tired, but someone had to stay awake, after all. It would be a little hard, due to the monotonous landscape; they'd reached the Si Wong Desert. It was going to be a long night.

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Author's notes:

Thus ends the fifteenth chapter of the story. As far as writing goes, this wasn't my favourite chapter, but I hope it's decent to read. Still, the different mood is a little refreshing to write, even if it's harsh and impersonal.

/ Another Duck


	16. Unfocused

The Story of the Moral

An Azula-centric fanfic.

Disclaimer: No sky bison were hurt in the making of this piece of fanfiction.

Author's notes:

Only a few chapters left, and several solutions to be given. Maybe now, maybe later; we'll see. Being somewhat of a nerd (I do write fanfiction, after all), I love to explain stuff, but I'm avoiding that as much as I can here, just to see what I can get away with while still having a story that makes sense. I could write pages upon pages about the mechanics of firebending, how Koh got loose (sorry mT), the details of Toph's situation, or what everyone's thinking at any given time, but those are, to me anyway, peripheral to the plot. Time is another important factor: I don't have enough of it.

Since MTL76 _finally_ solved the divider, I follow tradition and change it. Back to letters, but more difficult than before. It's the full phrase upon which a later chapter title is based on.

/ Another Duck

G U R E R V F A B F H P U G U V A T N F B I R E X V Y Y

Unfocused

G U R E R V F A B F H P U G U V A T N F B I R E X V Y Y

Sokka found out that Azula hadn't planned on letting him stay awake all night. Several hours later, a little after midnight, she had taken over watch duty, letting him get some sleep. When he awoke later, he found her asleep again, while Katara and Aang kept vigil over them. They took turns resting like that for a while, and journeyed for well over a full day.

The only one who had remained awake the entire time was Appa. That couldn't last much longer, though. They saw the edge of the desert now, and it was probably a good place to land and let the flying bison sleep. Just a little bit farther. There was a small, lonely farm down by a river there, so Katara steered towards it in hope of getting something to eat for him.

Out of habit, they landed in a clearing out of sight of the buildings. A lot of people tended to panic when they saw a ten ton huge beast landing in front of their feet.

The group unpacked mainly to let Appa get some relief from the burden, since they didn't really need all the stuff. They were relatively well-rested, if a bit stiff, but very hungry. For that reason, Katara and Azula had immediately taken out some of their food and started to cook. Aang and Sokka took their money and went off to the farm.

"Are you mad at my brother?"

The breach of silence made Azula pause in what she was doing. "No, I am not." In truth, she wasn't sure what feelings she had about the Water Tribesman. Anger directed at him wasn't likely one of them, though. At the moment, she much preferred staying off that topic so she could focus enough for the upcoming battle. Without complete control of her emotions, she wouldn't be as good of a fighter as she could be.

"It seems like you are."

"If you must talk, change the subject."

The silence continued.

When the male half of the group returned carrying a large basket between them, the food was almost ready. At any rate, it was finished enough for Azula to rise up and snatch the container with Appa's food from the two and walk over to the large and hungry animal. That was someone she was more comfortable being alone with, even if she suspected he didn't like her much. He wasn't someone she expected to judge her.

"Hey, Appa, are you awake? I've got you something to eat." She found it rather natural to just lower her voice and speak softly with the sky bison. She had heard people found pets to be calming to the mind, which was something she needed.

He opened one eye and made a content sound. Remembering her as an enemy, he was a little wary, but on the other hand, she was sitting down, offering him food, and was generally non-threatening. When he opened his mouth, she tossed him a melon, which he swallowed eagerly.

"It must be nice being you. Everyone likes you, and treats you well."

The look he gave her along with the grunt from his throat was rather questioning.

"Yeah, I like you too." She threw him another melon. "You're a loyal companion to Aang. It must be a joy to have such a friend." Sure, she had friends, but neither of them were as close to her as the airbending duo were to each other. These two would never betray each other.

Then again, she reflected, her friends wouldn't have betrayed her if she hadn't pushed them to it, and when she tried to look at it from an outsider's perspective, she wasn't sure they even did betray her in the first place. All one of them wanted was for her to not kill her boyfriend, and the other only wanted the first one to live.

Azula knew Mai didn't want to kill, or even harm, anyone. That's why she always aimed as she did. But while Azula knew she could take her down easily, she wasn't as sure she could do it while remaining unharmed herself, especially if she forced her friend's hand. It was loyalty to _both_ of them that drove Ty Lee to do what she did. The princess made a mental note to thank her for that.

"Azula!" yelled Katara. "Come and get your dinner!"

"I'll be right back." Placing a stack of hay in front of him, she went and took two sticks with several roasted items on them from the waterbender. No one seemed to care that she went back to Appa instead of eating with them, which suited her just fine. She knew she wasn't good company.

The hay was gone when she returned. "How much does a creature like your eat anyway?" she asked between bites.

The response was a rumble from his stomach. Apparently, more than he'd eaten now.

There were some cabbages left in the basket, so she gave them to him. "I'm sorry, but that's all there is." She patted him above his nose. "I'll go tell Katara you want some water." It wasn't something she actually knew, but after someone ate as much as he did, he had to be thirsty. He made no move to protest, so she assumed she had been right.

As she walked towards the other humans, her mask went back on. They may have treated her well, but she knew they didn't really see her as a friend. She was just powerful firebender who taught Aang and would help them defeat this Koh, whoever that was. Speaking of teaching, there was something Aang had to learn about lightningbending before he was ready to use it in real combat.

"Katara, Appa is thirsty."

"I'm done eating in a bit. I'll take care of it."

"Avatar Aang, are you ready for some practise?"

"Right now?"

"As soon as we are done eating. You can bend lightning with acceptable skill now, but you have a lot to learn about how to bend it while fighting. If you are going to fight Koh, this is necessary."

"I suppose that's reasonable."

G U R E R V F A B F H P U G U V A T N F B I R E X V Y Y

"Generating lightning when you have time to prepare is not that hard," Azula began the lesson. "When you are attacked it is much harder to concentrate enough to produce enough lightning to be effective. Try to take me out using only that."

"But it's impossible to take you out with lightning. You'll just absorb anything I throw at you."

"I am not going to absorb it, or avoid it. I am going to resist it."

"Why would you do that?" He couldn't fathom why anyone would actually _want_ to be struck by lightning. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Worry less about me, and more about yourself. If you hesitate, I will blow you away."

He gritted his teeth and prepared mentally for the challenge. She had been effective in teaching him, especially since they hadn't spent long time practising, but she was also ruthless. More so now than when she first became his new firebending master.

Waiting to see if she would make the first move, he soon started himself. Immediately after, a dark, red flame went past him just as he ducked, and he lost his focus.

"You can do better than that."

He could, he just had to get used to it. If there was one thing he was good at, it was moving around at great speeds. While he was limited to only one type of attack, he didn't have to stay still using it. Problem was, moving around to dodge and concentrating on bending lightning at the same time was rather difficult.

Over and over he tried to complete the generation, but every time one of Azula's small and well-timed fireballs interrupted him. Once or twice he got hit, so he was glad she didn't use her full-strength blue fire. That would actually harm him, which wouldn't be good when what he thought was a major battle lied in the near future.

"Is that all you've got? Who would've thought the Avatar couldn't even produce one lousy bolt of lightning."

She was getting into it. Her taunting made her loose up a little bit, he noticed. That was good. She'd been rather uptight since that evening at the fire. On the other side of the coin, it was distracting him a little bit. That wasn't good while trying to focus on something he wasn't completely proficient with.

He had to get out of this situation, and the only way to do that was to beat her. If she stayed true to her word, she would not likely stand more than a few bolts unless she'd come up with a new technique. If only he could... Of course, that was it.

Starting a move with the intention to get her to shoot fire at him, he stopped when she did and immediately began anew. Just as he had hoped, she didn't increase the rate of her attacks. Keeping a close eye on her to predict her next move, he wove his own attack at the same time as he wove through her blasts.

It wasn't a strong attack, but it still looked rather painful when it hit Azula. Aang resisted the urge to flinch in sympathy, but remembered that if you're hit at all with lightning, you will lose control of your body. While stunning her for a second or two, she remained on her feet and was back to tossing fiery projectiles at him in no time.

"That wasn't so hard, was it? Now if you could only make me actually _feel_ something from it."

And back to deriding, naturally. Knowing he could pull it off, she upped the speed on her bombardment little bit, so he had to put more effort into it. At the same time, since he now knew he could pull it off, he found it easier to maintain concentration, and thus be able to generate more electricity despite having to move around more while doing it.

This time, she staggered after the initial shock wore off. It worried him for a second, and in that second she threw a ball of blue fire against him.

"Your enemy is not your friend. Right now, I am your enemy."

The message was clear. She wasn't just harsh against him; she wanted him to be harsh against her as well. He knew it was one way to learn to let go of your inhibition where it only endangered you. But he also wanted to preserve his will to not give into blood lust. Killing was still something he'd never accept if there were any chance of another solution.

They kept on fighting for a while in a similar manner. Azula's onslaught grew more intense, while Aang got better and better. The outcome of it was that his attacks remained about as strong as his last. He'd missed one, but two hit her. At that point, there was no way she could fight normally. She had to have taken too much to be able to do more than the weak fireballs she'd thrown the entire sparring match, with one or two blue exceptions when she felt he went too far out of focus.

He had the hang of it. The way he moved around the flames was used to add power to the bolts, which made him able to fire them at almost the same speed as if he was standing still. Sure, his target was standing still, so it might have evened things out a little, but aiming was easier than generating the electricity in the first place.

One more lightning bolt hit her, and this time she fell back. She motioned for him to stop, and got to her feet, regaining her appearance of being unaffected by anything that had gone on the last few days. It was a rather convincing mask, if you didn't know the truth, which Aang did.

"I know this is good training for me, but why do you insist on letting yourself be harmed all the time?"

"It is good training for me too."

"And if it's just training, why do you keep mocking me?"

"You were not focused on the battle. I do not know where your mind was, but the insults did bring you back, did they not?"

She was right. They had helped him focus on her as an enemy rather than someone to worry about, or about the rest of their mission. "I still don't like the way you're acting. You were different before. It's like you're not yourself any more"

"This is who I am."

"I miss the old you."

"You miss the cruel monster who was chasing you all over the world?"

He knew full well that she was aware of what he meant. Her response only furthered his current line of thought. "The new old you. You know what I mean."

"There is no place for _that_ me. _This_ is who I am, and there is _nothing_ wrong with me."

Her stubbornness was beginning to grate on his nerves. "Oh, come on! You're _not_ completely all right, and you _know_ it. I bet you can't even cast lightning any more."

She glared at him. He dared challenge her lightningbending skills? She was the one who had taught him all he knew about it.

Her glare was matched by one of his own. Folding his arms, he stood there, daring her to do something. "Hit me."

There was no hesitation on her part. If he asked for it, he would get it. Stepping back into a better stance, she stretched her arms out in preparation to blast his defiant face off.

"Sokka."

Fizzle.

She didn't even bother completing the move. With just one word, Aang had thrown her mind into too much turmoil for her to be able to generate any lightning at all. She wanted to be angry at him for messing her up, but she couldn't. It wasn't actually his fault. He was just trying to help her, unwanted and irritating as the help was.

"Why don't you just..." That's when he noticed a spectator. "...talk with him?" He pointed at a confused Sokka who stood a little bit away from them. Just as she turned around to look at him, Aang used a little trick he'd learned from Appa. Being as gentle and precise as he could, he gusted the two far away, across the river, with a solid blast of air. That should give them a hint, and some privacy.

G U R E R V F A B F H P U G U V A T N F B I R E X V Y Y

Sokka landed in some bushes, while Azula landed on her feet, having slowed down her fall slightly. If the situation hadn't been what it was she'd have laughed.

"I do not want to talk with you," she stated bluntly.

Sokka, on the other hand, was beginning to get tired of the animosity between them. "You know, out of all reactions I expected from you, anger wasn't one of them. Maybe you'd be embarrassed, maybe you'd just laugh at me, or scorn me, but I really wasn't expecting you to become upset."

She knew that sooner or later, she would have to talk. She just hadn't expected to be forced into the situation. "I'm not angry at you."

"So you're just peachy, then? Sure, that's why you're yelling at me."

"I'm not angry at you," she repeated, and turned to face away from him. Not having to look at him made it easier for her to talk. "I'm angry at myself." She was vaguely reminded of her brother, even if the situation was different.

The admission defused the situation a little bit as they both calmed down to where they were speaking with normal voices again.

"Why?"

She debated telling him. Somehow, she felt he deserved to know. "For being weak. For allowing myself to get into that position. For trusting you. I tried to live that life, but it didn't work. People take advantage of you the moment you show any weakness. No more. I'm going back to being strong. Back to my own way."

"But that doesn't make any sense. Why would what I said make you feel that?"

"Like you don't know." There was venom in her voice, and it almost covered the sadness behind it. "You were just playing around with my emotions to see what pretty colours would appear in the fire."

So that was it. It was a simple misunderstanding, really. "I was being honest."

She whipped around to look him in his eyes. "Say that again." She didn't just hear what she thought she heard, did she? And he couldn't be telling the truth if she did.

"I was being honest."

Her eyes opened up to show the entire iris. He wasn't lying; she could tell, unbelievable as it was. "Oh."

Silence followed her almost inaudible word. Neither of them knew what to say as they tried to piece together the situation. It hadn't been as bad as either of them had thought.

"You were still forcing an emotion on me I wasn't prepared to show, whether it was my own or not. For once in my life, I was actually vulnerable, and you took advantage of that. The only reason I had even let my walls down in the first place was to follow your wishes." It wasn't entirely true. Her own curiosity played in as well, but he didn't need to know that.

"I'm sorry."

"I told you, I'm not upset with you." Folding her arms, she looked away from him. "I'm just not used to losing these things."

"Losing?" He wasn't quite sure where she was going with that.

"Yes. Whether you did it deliberately or not, you manipulated me into a corner without any defences, and with no will to attack." She paused briefly, letting a rare smile cross her lips. "I have to admire that."

It took him a while to mentally catch up with that last turn. She was happy about being manipulated? He shook his head. "You are one crazy lady."

"I know."

"So, where does this leave us?"

"That I don't know. I stopped trusting you for a false reason, but trust isn't a door you can just open and close at will."

"Let's just forget about all that's happened recently and go back to the way we were before this."

"That might be best. You go back to the others now. I need to clear my head."

Nodding, he was on his way. There was a bridge down the stream which he headed for. When he was out of sight, Azula made a sweeping motion through the air to generate a burst of lightning. It fizzled, just like before.

She had cleared up her issues with Sokka, hadn't she? She may not have regained her trust in him, and even if she knew that would come soon, it wasn't needed for some simple lightningbending. "What's wrong with me?"

G U R E R V F A B F H P U G U V A T N F B I R E X V Y Y

Author's notes:

Thus ends the sixteenth chapter of the story. Azula's closed mind makes some events pass by much faster, but I still liked writing this. I've left some hints as to what's going on with her, but I didn't want to spell anything out. Answers will come, but not now.

As a minor detail, she did figure out a new method to resist lightning, although I'm probably not going to go in on the technicality of it. I think there's enough of that already.

/ Another Duck


	17. No Such Thing

The Story of the Moral

An Azula-centric fanfic.

Disclaimer: Do not try this at home.

Author's notes:

Looking back at the entire story, this chapter holds one of my favourite events. It's the same event the title refers to.

One point to MTL76 for being reviewer #100. No points to anyone for solving the current cipher. A "hint" the size of three simple words lies in the title, though. After this, there are two chapters, so those are the two chances you get.

/ Another Duck

G U R E R V F A B F H P U G U V A T N F B I R E X V Y Y

No Such Thing...

G U R E R V F A B F H P U G U V A T N F B I R E X V Y Y

Aang and Azula were the two people awake when they approached the inner wall of Ba Sing Se. Appa wanted to sleep, but he was also the one pressing forward on his own will. At their last stop, they had planned on resting for a few more hours, although he felt the urge to continue. He was intelligent enough to know that Aang wouldn't want to put the pressure on himself, and made his own decision.

"I hope you solved your problems, because you'll soon have to use your bending."

"I've got to be honest with you. I did have a talk with Sokka, and we solved our differences, but somehow, my lightning is still off. Something is bothering me, but I don't know what. My fire will have to do for this fight."

"But you've got that under control." It wasn't as much of a statement as a hopeful question.

"Yes. The only problem with fire is the rain clouds. If it rains, fire will be weaker, and lightning will be harder to control. Be careful if you try to generate any."

"Thanks for the warning. Wake up the others. We don't know where Koh is, so we want to be ready."

"I would guess the upper ring. There aren't as many people there as in the other parts of the city, but they're more important. If he's trying to gain control of the city, that's where he'll go. Head for my uncle first. If he's come back from Shu Jing, he would be the one to ask."

Having nothing more to say, she turned around to nudge the two Water Tribe natives awake. Someone who did have something to say was Appa. He growled and changed direction slightly.

"What is it, buddy?"

They got a little closer, and then Aang saw it. Dozens of people standing still on the streets. This wouldn't normally be odd, but it was in the middle of the night. People should have been home, sleeping. Or at least they should have been moving around. But they were just standing still. It didn't take long for Aang to conclude it had something to do with Koh.

The Jasmine Dragon wasn't far away. Appa flew to right above it, but didn't land immediately. Instead, he turned towards the palace and grunted quietly. In the distance, a huge, dark creature could be seen. Even for someone who wasn't Aang it was obvious who it was. Satisfied that the humans knew where the spirit was, the sky bison gently dropped down to the ground and almost immediately fell to sleep.

"Thank you, old friend. You've done well."

They all disembarked, and Katara bended the water from the nearby fountain to lift off everything Appa carried. There was no need to unpack any of it, though, other than Aang's and Sokka's weapons.

There were few people around, and those who were just stood around like statues. Unlike what Aang had feared, they all had their faces, but that didn't mean they hadn't been through something worse. Walking into the tea shop, they saw quite a few customers sitting at the tables, but like all the rest, they weren't moving.

On a closer look, they weren't as still as statues. Sometimes they swayed. Sometimes they blinked. It was like they were sleeping with their eyes open, completely empty of any emotion or sentience. That's when they noticed who they were looking for.

"Uncle!" "Iroh!"

No response. He was just like all the others. He didn't react when Azula waved her hand in front of him, nor did he acknowledge anything else. Just a ghostly stare.

"It's like there's no one home," remarked Sokka. Poking him, or rather shoving him lightly, he did finally produce some kind of reaction. It wasn't much, but Iroh took a step back to regain his balance. He was alive, if you could call it that.

"Come." Knowing the order was just out of habit, Azula led him towards the back room where she found a bed to lay her uncle down in. "Aang, what do you make of this?"

"In the spirit world, Koh stole people's faces. In our world, it seems as if he steals their souls. I can't feel anything within him."

Katara opened her water skin and tried to heal the old man, but had no luck. "He feels fine, but his mind just isn't there. Not even the twisted images Jet had, or the corrupted thoughts you had, Azula, no offence."

"None taken. I didn't know you could read minds, though."

"I can't," she told her. "I can just feel if there's something wrong."

"Is there any way to bring him back?"

"I don't know," the Avatar answered. "Koh has collected faces since ancient times, and has never given up on a single one. If he gathers souls the same ways, the only way I can think of is to beat him."

Sokka cracked his knuckles. "That suits me just fine."

"Yes, we have to end this. The person he steals the soul of simply ceases to exist. There's no afterlife, no possible reincarnation."

"Just like the Avatar cycle would end if you'd be killed while in the Avatar state?" asked Katara.

"Whoops. I'm glad I didn't kill you, then." Azula bit her lip briefly.

"Actually, you did kill me," he stated, giving her a pointed, yet forgiving look.

The princess had the grace to show a hint of being ashamed. For her, even a little was a lot.

"But Katara brought me back." He took her hand and gave her a grateful smile.

"Is there anything you can't do?" the firebender asked the other girl, developing a new kind of respect for her. "You can bend blood, sense people's minds, and bring people back to life. And didn't you tell me you _couldn't_ do the last one before?"

"I had some spirit water from the Northern Tribe. Without it, I wouldn't be able to. And I almost used it to heal Zuko's scar. If I had done that..."

It wasn't hard for the firebender to figure out a likely outcome to that, nor which direction Katara's thoughts went. "Then Zuko would've joined you and not me, and history would've been different. But Aang would not have died. No sense in worrying about the ifs. Let's focus on Koh."

"So, you've told us he's a scary centipede-like monster who steals souls from anyone who shows him emotion," summarised Sokka. "Are there any other things we should know, such as how to actually kill him, or if he can do anything dangerous?"

"No. The spirit world works differently from this world. But he is probably more dangerous than any other being we've ever met."

"But we can't show him fear."

"No fear, no nothing."

"There is nothing more we can do here."

"Let's go get him."

G U R E R V F A B F H P U G U V A T N F B I R E X V Y Y

Just as Appa had shown, Koh was waiting for them. He was lying coiled at the centre of the open space when the gang walked up the stairs. Lanterns lit up the huge square in front of the palace, giving reprieve from the darkness of the night. Rain had started to fall, adding what gloom had been diminished.

"I told you we would meet again, Avatar. And you brought friends. How _lovely_." Smooth as silk, yet deadly as the spiderfly who weaves it.

"Return to the spirit world," commanded Aang. "You do not belong here. Return the souls you've stolen from the people."

"I shall have to think about that. No. The people here taste... _delicious_. Why should I have to give that up when I can... _not_?"

"You disturb the balance of the world by being here. If you do not leave, it is my duty to banish you."

"You will _banish_ me, little Avatar? How do you propose to that? I will not come willingly."

"Then I will have to fight you."

"You... and what army? Remember, I have already defeated you once, and who is more powerful than the Avatar in this world?"

"I am more powerful here than I am in the spirit world. How powerful is a spirit in the mortal world?"

"You do not want to kill me, Avatar. You do not want to _kill_ anyone."

"I do not need to kill you if you simply give up the souls you have collected and return to your world."

"I will take your souls before you can kill me."

A blue ball of fire interrupted the banter, striking the spirit in his side. "I have no qualms about killing."

While he flinched, it wasn't much, as his hard shell and heavy body deflected most of the energy. "Brave girl, daring to attack me."

As he slithered over to her everyone else scattered as they had planned. Sokka went to the right, his sister to the left, and Aang took to the skies to fall down behind Koh.

"_Azula_, is it, the princess of the Fire Nation." His voice was soft and lilting. "I know you. Your uncle was quite willing to provide your history along with his soul."

The raindrops around him suddenly froze to thousands of needles, which descended upon the monster.

"Oh, that tickles. I will come to you in a second, _Katara_. Do not worry."

Meanwhile, Azula had begun trying to generate some lightning, despite still feeling unsure if she could succeed. This time, she managed to separate enough energy to create sparks in the air, but the resulting bolt wasn't much to brighten her heart, nor harm her enemy.

"Oh, my. I almost felt that. Almost as much as you feel the loss of _your mother_." His faces changed instantly to that of a Fire Nation noblewoman.

The princess almost flinched at that, but quickly noticed it wasn't Ursa, and maintained her steeled expression. By now she was certain Koh wanted to play with them much more than he wanted to fight them. Play with them, and steal their souls.

"There are so many people you've _lost_, child. Your mother, your two friends, your father, even... _yourself_. I wonder how many you will lose today? I will spare you till last. Then you will be alive when you lose your last friends."

Whether he wanted it to end there or not, the ground below him rose and threw him high in the air. As he fell down, a single stalagmite of ice formed where he would land. With a sweep of his spider-like legs, he shattered the inverted icicle and touched safely to the ground.

"You might be a little dangerous, daughter of Kya. I think I shall deal with you first."

As soon as he left Azula, he was pelted with rocks and flames, none of them managing to penetrate his armour. Katara tried to slice off his limbs with a scythe made of raindrops, but the water went harmlessly past the spirit. Picking her up and trapping her arms, he stared into her so far neutral eyes.

"You, _my dear_, shall become my newest soul. For you..."

Again, he was interrupted, this time by a sharp blade thrust deeply into his back. Letting out a shrill scream of agony, he tossed away his captive and thrashed around to get rid of his new passenger. He held onto his sword vigorously, but Sokka had to let go when the force became too much for him.

"Foolish boy, you have aggravated me. You will not live to see the demise of your sister."

He hastily bore down upon his target who was now sprawled on the stony ground. As soon as he was close enough, he stabbed one of his claws right through the warrior's torso.

"_Die!_"

Within the blink of an eye, a huge blast of blue fire struck the side of the spirit, this time throwing him off balance. A bolt of lightning soon followed which made him drop Sokka.

"Katara, take care of Sokka. We'll hold him off."

Several more fiery projectiles forced Koh away from the two siblings.

"Aang, if you're going to hit him, hit him hard with charged attacks. Anything else he'll just shrug off."

"Lightning seems effective. Focus, Azula, you can do that better than I can."

He was right; she knew that. Or at least, he would've been right, if she hadn't been confused over her own emotions. Something upset her below her conscious level of thought. But it wasn't anything she could think of at the moment, since she blocked everything out. It was necessary for the fight. The fight she was currently lobbing charged fireballs in.

"I said I would deal with you _later_."

Taking a blast head on, he went straight for Azula and knocked her to the ground, causing her to lose her breath. A lot of training was the only thing that kept her from showing the emotion Koh tried to coax out of her.

"And you should back off," he told the Avatar, before sweeping his huge tail towards him. A cliff rose from blocks the square was paved with, almost stopping the attack. Aang was still thrown a long distance, giving the spirit enough time to go back to the two Water Tribe members.

He found that one of them was unconscious, and probably dying, so there was no use in trying to steal his soul. It would be gone soon anyway. The girl who was bent over him was a much better target.

Unprepared for the assault, Katara was jolted out of her focus on her brother when a demonic face appeared in front of hers. The shock was soon replaced by a vacant look as she just sat there.

"Katara!" shouted Aang as he ran towards them. In turn, the loss of his girlfriend proved too much for him to cope with and still remain expressionless. A second later, he stood still with the same blank visage as almost everyone else in that part of the city.

The only one left was Azula. Her fire didn't hurt enough. It just bounced off Koh's carapace. And her lightning still didn't work. It frustrated her to no end. When it came to her, and her alone, she was unable to use one of the moves she was famous for. One that could actually hurt the spirit. She knew that, since Aang's bolt had disturbed the beast enough to drop Sokka.

Her enemy, on the other hand, was feeling rather smug, and took it easy. There were no more threats to him. He had seen that the worst she could do was annoy him. "And now you're the last one alive. So many people you've lost. No one is left but you."

Standing up similar to the other victims, she repeated what he said in a dead, monotone voice. "I have lost everyone. No one is left."

"Yes, that's right. Everyone has abandoned you. There's no one who cares for you any more" He circled around her, giving her a little space to move, but nowhere to escape.

"Everyone has abandoned me. No one cares about me. I am all alone."

"You're all alone, and if you wish, I can help you end it. Do you want that?"

"End this?" She paused, as if pondering excessively on a simple question. "Yes, I will end this."

Slowly drawing one hand through the air, she made an arc of electricity appear. At the familiar feeling, she drew another circular motion with her other hand. The motions sped up, faster and faster.

"What are you doing, little girl? Do you not know that you cannot hurt me?"

"I cannot hurt you. I will end this."

"Let me help you." He wasn't sure what she was doing. He knew what techniques she could perform, and this would kill her. She was not allowed to commit suicide. He would take her soul before that. "Do not take your life. Let me have your soul. Then you will have eternal rest."

Unaffected by his words, she continued her movements. "I will end this," she repeated.

"Stop right now!" He coiled around her tighter and trapped her.

She still had one of her arms up in the air, now drawing complete circles above her head. Then came what she had been waiting for: A tingling feeling shot up from her feet to her arm, to her outstretched fingers. This would hurt. A lot.

"_This is your end, Koh,_" she told him in an ominous voice she'd been practising while she was still in line as the next Fire Lord, no longer afraid to show any emotion. It would end, right there, right then. She took comfort in the shock shown in his eyes, for it would be nothing compared to the shock to come.

The rain seemed to halt for a moment as everything went silent. Lightning streaked across the bottom of the dark clouds and converged at a single point straight above the two beings. Just as Azula tilted her head backwards and closed her eyes, a bolt of monumental size struck down from the skies.

It was the last thing she saw.

G U R E R V F A B F H P U G U V A T N F B I R E X V Y Y

Author's notes:

Thus ends the seventeenth chapter of the story. Koh is an odd one to write. I had no idea how to make the fight interesting enough when I began, but I'm satisfied with the result. I also had a lot of trouble trying to not think about Duriel from Diablo 2 while writing him. They're just so similar. However, Koh prefers to talk his enemies to their defeat, unlike the other fellow. For some reason, I also imagine him speaking like Psycho Mantis from MGS.

I must admit, I don't like the way Koh steals faces. It just feels arbitrary in some way. I find it a little better to translate the face as physical manifestation (or representation) of one's soul, in particular as it's the spirit world we saw him. However, he's creepy enough to make it work as long as you don't think about it too much. Which I do.

Reading the whole thing over again, it may seem as if Koh's appearance is fairly sudden, but I didn't want to risk him taking over the story, which he is prone to do. Also, yes, she saw that through her eyelids.

/ Another Duck


	18. Sacrifice

The Story of the Moral

An Azula-centric fanfic.

Disclaimer: No, _really_. Don't.

Author's notes:

Last chapter before the final one. Last chance to solve the divider (and get recognition for it).

Also, reviews I can't respond to bug me, because I can't respond to them. However, I don't want to turn off the option either.

/ Another Duck

G U R E R V F A B F H P U G U V A T N F B I R E X V Y Y

Sacrifice

G U R E R V F A B F H P U G U V A T N F B I R E X V Y Y

Sentience returned to Aang. The first thing he saw was the love of his life stirring to life, just as he had done a moment before. She appeared confused at first, but when she saw her brother lying in front of her, she immediately started to heal him again.

"Katara."

She turned towards him. "Aang. I can't... He's dying." Tears flowed from her eyes, visible even in the rain.

"Something's wrong with this." He couldn't quite put his mind to it, but there was something he was missing. "Koh! Where's Koh?" Swirling around, he quickly spotted the huge spirit lying in a limp whorl. A hand was visible on the back of the creature, right next to Sokka's black and bloodied sword, still stuck where he'd stabbed it.

Running up to it, he found an equally limp Azula, whom he pulled free. She had burn marks all over, and she was also quite dead. No heartbeat at all. It wasn't hard for him to determine what had happened. The smell, mainly from the huge corpse behind him, along with her scorched skin pointed directly to a rather large lightning burst.

"Katara! Come over here!"

It took some strength for her to leave her brother, but she knew she could do nothing more for him. "What happened to her?" she asked as soon as she came within sight.

"She's zapped herself with lightning. Didn't you say something like this happened to Zuko at the Agni Kai?"

Before responding, she started to heal what she could of Azula's injuries. Thanks to plenty of rain, the burns disappeared with little effort. "Yes, exactly this. You have to fire a bolt of lightning through her heart."

"What? That would kill her!"

"She's dead as it is already. Put less energy into it then, but trust me. She taught me this."

He did trust her, so he wasted no time following her directions. It did disturb him, but on the other hand, Azula had little to lose at this point. The moment he let go of the charge, she arched back for a moment, the relaxed. Slowly, she opened her eyes.

"Welcome back, Azula." Despite her feelings for her brother, Katara smiled along with Aang.

"So that's what it feels like to be dead." She was aware that she had died, and what caused it, but little else, although more was coming to her.

"I know the feeling."

She smirked at his comment, and rose up to a sitting position. Then she fell down for a moment as her eyes became unfocused, before getting up again. "Damn it. Some things I never learn," she muttered.

"How do you feel?"

"I'm all right. Actually, I feel rather energetic now." The rest of the world started to return to her at that point, and what had happened during the fight. "Where's Sokka?"

"He's..." Katara choked on the words, while Aang just looked depressed. Their glances showed Azula where to direct her eyes.

"Sokka!" She was running over to him, not yet having regained her balance, but still managing to not fall. "_Sokka!_" she cried again.

"Zula. Hey. Did we... get him?"

She tried to give him a smile, but doubted she succeeded very well. "We did. We got him."

"I need to rest now, Zula. Wake me up tomorrow." Closing his eyes, he relaxed.

"No! Stay with me. Come on, stay. _Stay!_" She hugged him closely. "Please stay," she whispered.

"I tried to heal him." Katara approached them listlessly, both in tone and stature. "He's just too injured. I don't think he'll live to see the day."

"You could with Aang!" There had to be a way to save him. There _had to_.

"The spirit water, remember? I don't have that any more, and the only place I know where to get more is the North Pole. Appa can't make that journey now; he's too tired. And he still wouldn't be fast enough."

He'd die? No, Azula refused to let that happen. She'd never trusted anyone so completely before him. She'd never cared so much about anyone before. The feelings overwhelmed her to the point where she felt she'd overheat, something she also had never felt before.

Or had she? There was that one time she tried to forget, but somehow also wanted to never let go of. The moment of inordinate feelings gave way to a moment of crystal clarity. Panic was replaced by raw determination.

"I am fast enough. Aang, give me your glider." Once he'd folded it out she placed it on the ground, then lifted Sokka upon it. "I need ropes."

After sharing a glance, both Katara and Aang handed her their belts. She used them to secure Sokka to the glider, then tilted it vertically and placed herself at the normal flying position.

"Now, give me a boost as high up as you can. I'm flying to the North Pole."

"Don't you think I would be faster?"

She gave him a cocky smirk. "Just you wait."

"Ready?"

"Ready."

Aang concentrated for a moment, then stomped the ground. A pillar rose from underneath Azula's feet, accelerating her upwards. Once she reached the highest speed the Avatar could propel her, the pillar ended its growth. At that distance, they couldn't see much of what she was doing, but she did start heading north, gliding normally.

Then they saw her feet light on fire, blue as usual. Only, once that had done its job speeding her up further, the colour changed to green, and her velocity increased multiple times. Not long after, she had disappeared out of sight. She'd been right; Aang couldn't match that speed. However, could she hold out the entire way to her destination?

G U R E R V F A B F H P U G U V A T N F B I R E X V Y Y

If she'd been paying attention, she'd realise she would enjoy the flight immensely. Faster than an arrow, and more free than any other machine she'd ever piloted. Sure, she could fly without any craft at all, but this she could do for much longer, as she didn't need to provide all the lift herself. Her determination wouldn't run out any time soon.

The moonlight gave the soft clouds a silver lining as they whizzed by, and she lost track of time. All she could think of was that she had to reach her goal before it was too late for Sokka. Before she had to see him disappear from her life. Now when she'd finally understood what he meant to her in truth. What had caused her to much disarray that it prevented her from generating lightning properly.

Koh had helped her with that, but only temporarily. That was a state of mind she didn't want to return to. Not caring about if she lived or died, or about anyone or anything else, was truly frightening. It gave her tremendous powers as there were no emotions to disturb the flow of the lightning, but the price she had to pay wasn't worth it in any situation but the most dire. Of course, that had been dire enough.

The real answer to why she couldn't use lightning was far simpler than she'd imagined. Yes, she had solved her problems with Sokka after Aang more or less forced them to talk, but there had been one piece of the puzzle she had missed then. She didn't want to return to where they were just travelling companions or even just friends. She wanted something more, and the rejection of that was what caused the disturbance of her mind.

At the same time, she also figured out the source of the green fire. She pondered if that was something she would tell Sokka or not. After all, he was the one who helped her create it in the first place. Life would be good, because he would survive. Nothing would get in her way. _Nothing_.

Land came within sight. Her goal wasn't far away. She had never been there before, although she'd seen many maps. None had been particularly detailed, but she didn't need that. She was reasonably sure that if she turned left and followed the coast, she'd eventually end up at the city.

At the same time she felt comfort over being closer to her goal than she thought, she was also reminded of how tired she was. While she hadn't been using her green jets the entire journey, she had used them a lot to keep the speed up, and it had worn her out to where she was feeling a little dizzy. Still, she was at a decent altitude, so she could glide rather far without any significant effort at all.

Of course, it couldn't be that easy. Over the coast where she was, the winds were as unpredictable as they were at the South Pole, where she'd crashed her other aircraft. This time she was a little more experienced, much thanks to that particular crash, so she knew how to parry the squalls. Not to mention, while Aang's glider was smaller, it was easier to control, even with Sokka tied to it. Or maybe because of it; she wasn't sure.

Still, having to swerve back and forth to maintain her course made her sink lower and lower. She tried to summon her jets again, but failed. She was simply too tired. Eventually the ground came too close for comfort, so she steered out towards the sea to gain a little relative altitude before she hit something.

A fleeting thought appeared in her head. She wouldn't make it. She didn't have any energy left to fuel her fire. She felt completely depleted. That wouldn't do. She had to make it. She had to find the energy to take off again. She had to, even if it would kill her. Fire was life, so she would give it hers, if only she could. She prayed to whatever spirits were listening to give her the ability to do so.

A tingling sensation made its way through her spine and settled in her stomach. Where her energy was supposed to be. The feeling was somewhat reminiscent to how the sunrise felt, but there was only a full moon to be seen. Dawn was still hours away. The flames lit up mere metres above the waves, and she rose towards the skies again.

It couldn't last long. Her vision was waning, and she could no longer find the strength to counter the gales. As she gained height, a light appeared in front of her. That was it, she thought. She was dying from the strain. Her refusal to give up cleared her mind momentarily, and she saw that the shine wasn't something she imagined; it was the city she was travelling to.

She would make it, as long as she could pass the walls. The events weren't clear to her then. Everything faded. She hit something white, that much she saw. She had to have crashed into the snow. People had to find them. They had to heal Sokka with the spirit water. They had to. They could leave her there, as long as they got Sokka. They had the spirit water here. They _had_ to help.

G U R E R V F A B F H P U G U V A T N F B I R E X V Y Y

Author's notes:

Thus ends the eighteenth chapter of the story. The chapter was originally a little longer, but drama told me this was a good place to end. It also fits better thematically. Anyhow, this is the beginning of the end. Even more originally, the story would end in this chapter, but I added a little, just because the story wanted to be told that way.

I found it a little odd to write a complete section without any speech, but I found it to my liking as a change of pace. Dialogue is usually what I enjoy the most, other than just randomly torturing my favourite characters, of course. But if you've read this far, you should have realised that by now.

Now, as a fun reviewing (messages work too) exercise, I want you to try to remember all the Chekhov's Guns (or skills, or whatever) you've seen that's been fired, or you suspect will be fired in the last chapter. I probably missed some, and it's always fun to see what people think will turn up, or what they miss or catch. Also, there are a few more or less hidden references to random things.

/ Another Duck


	19. Aftermath

The Story of the Moral

An Azula-centric fanfic.

Disclaimer: One princess was severely and repeatedly hurt in the making of this piece of fanfiction. Details below.

Author's notes:

This is the last chapter, and as an added bonus since you've been such a nice bunch of readers, it's also extra long. Since no one solved the cipher, it remains, and no one gets credit. Sucks to be you.

Even if it's finished, I'll try to answer all reviews and messages. This time around, I don't have to worry about spoilers, so feel free to ask if there's anything.

Enjoy!

/ Another Duck

G U R E R V F A B F H P U G U V A T N F B I R E X V Y Y

Aftermath

G U R E R V F A B F H P U G U V A T N F B I R E X V Y Y

Ba Sing Se recovered soon after Koh's defeat. The souls returned to their bodies as they weren't yet dead. After all, separating the soul from the body was a rather unnatural process, and the balance strived towards the equilibrium where it belonged, without the force that kept them apart.

Aang and Katara arrived at the Northern Water Tribe's capital. Appa had gotten his well-deserved rest, and later a large meal, so he was quite happy to fly and check on how Sokka and Azula were doing. Not to mention, people treated him well there.

The most likely person to go to was Yugoda, the master healer, so they landed outside the house she taught healing in. It was readily apparent that only three individuals were inside, and just the people they wanted to see.

"Hello, Yugoda!" greeted Katara.

"Katara! I was expecting you to show up sometime. How are you, my child?"

"I'm well myself, but I'm worried about my brother. How is he?"

"He is sleeping now, but he could wake up any time now. He was awake a while ago."

"So they did get here in time," concluded Aang with no small amount of relief.

"Yes, he's quite lucky to have such a dedicated friend, but I'm afraid she didn't fare quite so well. When they were seen crashing here, one of our benders managed to slow their fall, so they weren't injured from that. Your friend here was barely conscious, but she repeated the words 'heal Sokka' and 'spirit water,' so we knew it was urgent."

Katara nodded in agreement. "I tried to heal him before they took off, but without the spirit water, his wounds were simply too severe."

Returning the nod, Yugoda continued her tale about what happened. "He would've died without it, I'm sure. It helped that the Moon didn't want him to die either," she added thoughtfully. "But as I said, your friend was less lucky. I can heal wounds and cure diseases, but I can't restore someone's spirit. She's very weak, and if she doesn't wake up soon, I'm not sure she ever will."

"Who are you talking about?" The words were groggy, but brought two huge smiles to the newcomers.

"Sokka!" Katara threw her arms around her brother. "I'm so glad you're all right!"

Aang took it with a bit more moderation, but still joined in the hug.

While happy his friend and sister were overjoyed to see him, he hadn't gotten his question answered. However, it wasn't hard to figure out the answer. "Were you talking about Azula? What happened to her?"

"Do you mean Azula, as in the daughter of Ozai?" asked Yugoda with a shocked expression. At the affirmative nod, she went on. "This is princess Azula? I never expected her, of all people, to set her own life aside for one of our people."

"Trust me," began Aang, "she's surprised all of us as well. She's changed."

Sokka was still not getting his questions answered. "But how is she _now_?"

"She is very weak, and asleep."

Rising to his feet, slowly, he went over to her bed. She was sleeping peacefully, but she was very pale. He'd seen her both unconscious and asleep before, but she always had an aura of strength around her. This time, she lacked it, and it made her look vulnerable. He placed a hand on her forehead, and noted that she was feeling like any other of his tribe. However, she wasn't one of the Water people. She was a Fire Nation girl.

"She'll be better if we raise the heat here."

"Is there something wrong with the heat here? I find it quite comfortable, and none of my patients have ever complained."

"No, there's nothing wrong with it for us. But she's a firebender, and to her this is cold."

"Very well. You two," she pointed at Aang and Katara, "Move her bed closer to the fire. And you, Sokka, should be in bed. You're still wounded."

"I will when she's all right." He followed her recommendation as far as not helping with the bed. He could feel the pain in his chest when he moved, so trying to do anything strenuous was right out.

A few moments later, Azula was lying close enough to the fire to make the healer worry for her safety, but with the Avatar there, she felt a little better about it. "I have a few things to take care of. I would ask you to watch over her, but I believe that would be somewhat redundant."

Azula didn't wake up that day, but somehow, she was looking a little more content after the change. With further aid of both Katara and Yugoda, Sokka's wounds healed up enough to only leave a scar on his chest. There was also some pain when he did anything laborious, but he could do it without causing further harm.

G U R E R V F A B F H P U G U V A T N F B I R E X V Y Y

The light was a comfortable shade of blue, and it was quiet. When she opened her eyes they quickly adjusted to her surroundings, even if her mind struggled to keep up. It was hazy, and the unknown location didn't help either. However, she was at peace. There was nothing to fear where she was. A cosy fire to her right, and a large, open room to her left.

She wasn't tired, but she lacked strength. It would've been discomforting, but she knew what she had spent that energy on. It was well worth it. She had succeeded. As she smiled to herself she heard someone come towards her. Closing her eyes, she planned on waiting to see who it was.

The person sat quietly down next to her bed. "Hey, Azula, still asleep?" It was Sokka. The thought that he was well and sound warmed her heart. She heard him make a funny noise, then cough slightly. It wasn't a sick cough, though, just as if he swallowed in the wrong way. "You're looking better today. Not so pale, and almost back to normal."

She was aware that people sometimes talked to those sick in bed, whether they were awake or not, so hearing him talk to what he thought was himself didn't really bother her. If anything, she was curious as to what he'd say.

"I wanted to thank you for what you did. I know you flew me here from Ba Sing Se." He took her hand, and she tried to relax. "I also know why you did it. You care about me, maybe more than you realise, or just more than you express."

He was right. She hadn't shown much to him in earnest, but she also knew he was more perceptive than he let on. He should have picked up on some of her feelings. There was no way he could outmanoeuvre her as he had without at least being relatively skilled in reading people, or at least, reading her.

"I _crave_ for you. Your mind, your body, your lips. _All_ of you."

The sudden admission wasn't something she was prepared for, and blood flowed to her face before she could control herself. However, her lack of strength made it hard to manage doing much of anything against it anyway. She could feel him lean forward as his breath brushed the side of her face. She was sure he had to know she was awake by now.

"You're also very cute when you blush, Azula."

Yes, he knew. Not that it helped her cool her flushing face down. Rather the opposite. "Rub it in, why don't you?" she muttered with a rasping voice, hampered by lack of use. While terribly embarrassed, she was a little amused. And Sokka was probably the person she was the most comfortable being this open with. He'd seen worse from her, any way you interpret it.

"Hey, you're the one who pretended to still be asleep."

"What gave me away?" She opened her eyes and looked up at him.

"Even if you breath slowly now, it's still faster than when you're asleep. So I knew as soon as I entered."

"I have to be more careful with you. You're not as dumb as you make yourself appear to be."

He scratched his head. "Do you mean that as an insult or a compliment?"

Merely smiling, she tightened her hand against his. "I know you just said what you just did to get a rise out of me, so I'm going to ignore that, but I do have something I want to tell you. I have feelings for you too."

"Well, I was exaggerating, but I wasn't lying. My words are still true."

"There is one thing I wonder about, though. Why did you choose that moment to tell me? I know you didn want to hurt me, but I'd think there would be a better moment to pick."

"I don't want to tell you. It's going to make me sound like a jerk."

Smirking, she raised an eyebrow at him. "Would I let that stop me?"

"You've got a point. I told you then because I was afraid you'd just throw it off and laugh. That it would just bounce off of those emotional walls you were so proud of. I just didn't trust you enough back then."

"You'd be right, you would sound like a jerk, if it wasn't for one, small detail. I probably would've reacted like that. But after you said it, well, let's just say that walls aren't very effective once you're inside them."

"I still don't know what your reaction was. I just saw your face turn red, and the camp fire turn green."

"Honestly, I just figured out the green flames after we defeated Koh." She paused to give him a meaningful glance. "When I realised you would die if we couldn't get you healed up in time. And if I hadn't figured it out, I'd be better off leaving you to Aang." Her eyes went briefly in the other direction as she bit her lip thoughtfully. "Or maybe that would've been the better idea from the start."

Being impatient while she considered the alternative, he decided to nudge her on. "So, what was it?"

She would give him an answer. He wouldn't likely like one part of how she planned on giving it, although she quite believed he would like the other part. "I'm probably going to pass out, but don't worry. I'm experienced with this."

The way she said that last bit didn't sit right with him. It didn't sound as if it was an experience she wanted to have. "Azula, don't hurt yourself just to show me something."

She had to smile at his predictability. It was occasionally endearing. "I won't be hurting." Placing one hand on the left side of the bed, and using the other to grab his shoulder, she pulled herself up towards him. It took a lot more effort than she expected, but it would be worth it. Feeling the blood rush from the sudden rise, she knew had to act quickly. Pressing her lips against his, she had planned on giving him an intense kiss, but her lack of strength made it rather soft instead.

Not that he complained. Something he would complain about was the way her head rolled over to his shoulder and swayed a little back and forth. He was just about to ask how she was doing when he noticed the fireplace behind her. It was burning a bright green. She didn't go unconscious after all, or even close enough to lose control of the flames.

When her head stopped swimming, she remained where she was, leaning on him. She was getting way too used to these rushes. "See?"

"I see," he responded. The flames enticed him in a way that kept his attention for almost a minute. "And it doesn't look nearly as insane as your blue fire. Just very, very weird."

"Do you think I should switch to this?" Her question was somewhat serious. There were advantages to it, but also drawbacks to the green flames. Stronger and more intense, but they required a focus that was hard to keep in a battle.

"Nah, I like blue better, and it suits you."

She raised an eyebrow, somewhat accusing, but also somewhat entertained. "So you still think I'm insane?"

"_Of course_ I do."

"You sure know how to make a girl feel good." After a while, she pushed away from him so she could look him in the eyes. "But do you know what would make me feel even better?" Her look turned into a gaze, irises sparkling.

"No, what?"

"Some food. I'm starving." Sparkling of humour.

He gave her a quick kiss and rose up. "I'm a little bit hungry myself, but Katara said she'd bring some breakfast in a bit. You just get some rest meanwhile. You look like you could use it."

"I'm not tired. Just... drained."

"You told me before that if you used firebending until you drained yourself, it would take a while for you to recover, but you also said it wouldn't take this long. I'm not sure how long I was asleep, but I've been awake for a few days now. What really happened?"

"Pushing yourself to that point isn't too hard, but it wasn't enough to reach this city. I was still over the sea by the time I had no energy left to bend."

"So how did you make it?"

"I sort of burned up what's essentially my own life to get here. My spirit." Rather than the usual confidence, she was a little out of countenance. She wasn't used to telling someone what she gave up for him, in particular something as important as this.

"I didn't even think that was possible." There wasn't much he knew about it, but he had gathered some of Aang's and Yugoda's theories.

"Neither did I, but I took what I had. I couldn't give up. Not to save my life. Not to give up yours." A hint of the determination she'd shown that night shone through as her eyes glazed over.

"Your family is so stubborn."

"It's one of our few redeeming virtues." Someone who didn't know her would take the comment as prideful. Someone who did know her would know that while the pride was true, it was also laced with humour.

"Sokka, are you in here?" It was Katara's voice that came from the entrance.

"I'm here!"

"Here's your..." Her words were halted when he discovered that Azula was sitting up. "Oh, you're awake now. How do you feel?"

"I'm all right. Just drained. And hungry."

"I can imagine. You've not eaten for several days." Katara looked the other girl over. She was a bit on the skinny side, and seemed rather exhausted. "You can have mine," she added after some thought. "I'll just head back and eat with Aang." There was a table nearby upon which she placed the two dishes. Just as she was about to leave, Azula stopped her.

"Katara, what do you know of spiritual regeneration?"

"Um, not much. I'll ask if Aang or Yugoda knows anything. I'll see you later."

Apparently, Azula noted as she began to eat, the tribe here also favoured fish for breakfast. Not that she minded, although it could use a little more spices. Fire Nation food tended to be richer in that. When Katara had left, Sokka gave the remaining girl a concerned glance.

"You're afraid," he stated simply. "Why?"

"That obvious, huh?"

"It is when you're not trying to hide it."

Now that she thought of it, she didn't really have the willpower to hide her emotions. Actually, she found she lacked willpower in general, and she knew why.

"People can't normally use their own spirit to power their bending. I didn't think I would be able to, but I suppose the situation was dire enough. Since it's not something natural, I don't know if I'll ever regain my full strength."

"And you knew this when you did it?"

"I assumed it would kill me at that time," she stated as a matter of factly.

"You didn't have to ruin your own life to save mine. It's a little over where I draw the line."

"But that's exactly why I did it. I know you still thought of me as an enemy when we met at the South Pole, but you still helped me out. You saved me from drowning, gave me clothes, food, and a place to stay, all without asking for anything in return. And yet, you still prefer to die if it meant I wouldn't have to sacrifice my powers for you. There's no way I can choose myself over someone like you."

"Why not?" He knew the answer, but wanted her to say it.

"Because I'm following my very own conscience." In the end, that was what kept her from breaking down again, unlike that other time when she did break down when she lost everything she had ever wanted. Of course, this time she still had one thing left. She might have lost her ability to become the greatest firebender ever, but she'd accomplished the goal she set out for when she left the Fire Nation palace. And she'd gained something else she didn't expect.

"I'm proud of you, Azula."

Even though she thought he sounded a little belittling, it was also sincere. Regardless of which, she soaked it up eagerly with a wide smile.

A little after they had finished eating, Aang entered.

"It's nice to see you awake, Azula."

"You know, you'd think I'd get used to people being happy to see me alive and well, but I'm not sure I want to," she noted wryly.

"Katara told me you wanted to know about spiritual regeneration. I haven't checked you out, but is this why you're weak now?"

"Yes. I used my spirit to fuel the flames that brought me the last distance here."

"That shouldn't be possible. Some people can tap into their spirit to do extraordinary things, but if this is what you've done to almost kill yourself, I don't know how you did it."

"What's the problem with it? You use energy to bend, and using your spirit to do the same doesn't seem too different to me."

"Sokka, you're not a bender, so you wouldn't see the difference. Or to put it this way, you can use your spirit, but it's akin to trying to choke yourself by holding your breath. It takes a lot of concentration, so you'll soon be too weak to do it any more."

"Well, I've done that. Will I recover?"

"It's possible, but it will take time. At best, I'd guess weeks. But more likely, years. I can show you a meditation technique that will help."

Sokka brightened up, as this was something he could actually help with. Or at least, offer his wisdom, brief as it was. "Do you think being at the Spirit Oasis would help? At least it's warm there."

"That's an excellent suggestion, Sokka! Azula, follow me."

She initially just watched him leave, then rose up. Or at least, she tried to. Just sitting up had been a chore, and standing took even more out of her. Noticing her struggle, Sokka quickly swung her arm around his neck, lifted her up to a standing position, and supported her while she walked. It took them a while, but eventually they reached their goal. Luckily, it hadn't been far, as they were already in the same part of the city.

"I can see why you thought this place would help. It's so peaceful here."

Aang didn't show any reaction to how Azula got there, but eventually Sokka helped her sit down in front of the small pond at the spirit gate.

"Get well," was all the water tribesman said to her. Before leaving, he knelt down in front of the pond and whispered, "Take care of her, Yue." The white fish briefly stopped swimming around to look at him and then continued to circle as if nothing happened.

The technique the Avatar showed the princess was one similar to what she already knew, so it came easily to her. Within minutes, she was meditating, and already feeling her spirit answer to the tranquil environment.

"There are some people who arrived for the festival. I need to go and greet them. I'll leave you alone for a few hours so you can focus properly."

"Thank you, Aang, I appreciate it." She paused and opened her eyes to look at him. "And you know, all of this, it's reminded me of something."

"What's that?"

"I'm ready to be judged." She let out a breath, almost as if he would judge her right there and then, but she knew he'd never do that.

"What do you mean?"

She remembered what the dragon had said, and paraphrased. "Judgement would come when I was ready."

"So that thought just came to you?"

"Yeah." His phrasing struck a chord in her memory. "Wait a minute. That's what it meant. I was judged. I just didn't realise it then. I _knew_ you were behind this!" She emphasised it by pointing at him accusingly.

"I don't know anything. I'm just the Avatar." She could almost hear him whistle innocently, even if he didn't.

"Exactly." She glared at him to try to coax an answer out of him, but at the same time, she knew she'd gotten everything she'd ever get out of him with regards to this. "Just the bridge between this world and the spirit world. Nothing else."

"Well, I must be going now. You have fun!" Just as Sokka had done, the Avatar showed his respect to the two fishes by bowing to them.

The firebender was a little curious as to why, but guessed it had something to do with the holiness of the location. She spent some time meditating. While she didn't feel any change other than what she had felt initially, she was confident it would have effect in time. However, she didn't get more time than that alone. Someone interrupted her solitude.

A Kyoshi Warrior came within sight, and when she spotted the previously meditating girl, it became obvious who it was. Her movement pattern was rather unique. In a few bounces, Ty Lee was inches away from her friend. Contrary to her normal mood, the acrobat seemed distraught over something.

"Azula, what happened to you? Your aura is so tiny."

Leave it to Ty Lee to figure what's wrong with her at a single glance. "Ty Lee, I'm fine. I'm just a little... burnt out."

"A little? You look half dead! You're at the right place, though. This place is excellent for healing, so whoever found you this place is a genius."

Now that was a change of topic she didn't mind. "It was actually the one of the Avatar's friends you think is so cute."

"Ooh, Sokka! Yes, he's smart. You should hook up with him."

Azula smirked. She couldn't have set that up better herself, and that's saying something. "Way ahead of you."

Ty Lee gaped. She'd only meant it as a joke. Azula and Sokka? Now that was news worthy of travelling the world for. But first things first. "So, is he as good of a kisser as Suki tells me?"

"Ty _Lee_!" However her initial reaction may have been, the expectant look on the other girl's face made her relent. "I think he is, but I'm not sure. I was busy trying to not pass out at the time."

"That sounds... I don't know what to think about that."

"I'd just woken up after bringing him here. The journey here is why I burned off all my energy, and my spirit as well, as you obviously can see."

"I didn't think that was possible."

"I know, I know, everyone says that. I don't know how either, but I managed. Otherwise, both Sokka and I would've died. I'm going to be fine, though. Aang showed me a meditation technique that will help me regain my strength."

"Hmm, that's good. But you know, there's something about this place." Ambulating around a bit and examining the surroundings, she came to a conclusion. "There's a lot of spiritual energy here, and I think we can speed up your recovery by a lot. I just need to ask for permission."

"Permission? From whom?" They were alone as far as she could see, but she had an idea that there were some kind of spirits around.

"The two spirits swimming in the pond, naturally. Didn't you know?"

The fishes? That explains it. "Which spirits are they?"

"I don't know." She lied down on her stomach to regard the two fishes. "The black one's some kind of water spirit, I believe. The white one has a very silvery aura. I think it just may be the Moon Spirit."

"The moon was full and guiding my way when I flew here. I'll have to thank her for that."

"I can hear you, you know." A white-clad, pale girl rose from the surface of the water.

"Ooh! Are you the Moon Spirit, lady?"

"That I am, Ty Lee. I'm Yue, and my companion here is La, the Ocean Spirit."

"You have a shiny aura. It's pretty."

"Thank you."

"So, anyway, I wanted to ask you for permission to use the spiritual energy here to heal Azula. I know she's done some bad things in the past, but she's really good now, I promise!"

"I know what she has done, and I'm grateful for it. Azula, I gave you the choice of sacrificing part of your own spirit in exchange for Sokka's life, and you did so with the belief that it would kill you. Ty Lee, if you would open Azula's pressure points as you had planned to do, I will bestow a gift upon her."

Nodding, she went behind the princess, who was still sitting down in a the position she had meditated in. "This is going to hurt a bit," warned Ty Lee before striking her friend sharply three times in the back and once in the neck.

If she had been someone else, she'd take note of the pain from the blows, but this was Azula. She could feel the energies of the room start to seep through her as soon as the last hit had connected.

"Thank you. It would be best if you left now. I do not want your pink aura to be disturbed."

"Good luck, you two!" She bowed and left the same, energetic way she entered.

"This is not a permanent gift as the one I received from the previous Moon Spirit. As your own spirit strengthens, and you will need my gift less and less, it will return to me. Now, meditate and bond with the spiritual energy in this sacred place."

"How long will it take?"

"No longer than a month. Maybe a week if you meditate often."

"I have to wonder why I was so cruel in a world with so much kindness. I do have one final question to ask you. Why would you give me this, if I would heal on my own anyway?"

"It pains me that Sokka feels guilt that you did this."

"Why is he so special to you?"

"That is more than one question. You will have to ask him about that. I bid you farewell, but I will always watch over the two of you. You have my blessing."

"Thank you." As Azula bowed while still sitting down, Yue dropped down into the pond again, to continue swimming alongside her eternal companion.

G U R E R V F A B F H P U G U V A T N F B I R E X V Y Y

The day turned into evening, and the skies darkened. While she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, Azula felt rejuvenated. She was still hungry, but it didn't really bother her. Being full of strength she previously lacked made up a lot for the few protests from her stomach. However, for the time being, she would take a break from her meditation.

When she exited the small, circular door to the oasis she noticed someone standing guard. Apparently, Ty Lee hadn't gone far, although she wasn't exactly vigilant. The princess wondered if she was actually snoring softly, but she was most definitely asleep. Standing in front of her, Azula decided to see how awake the guard actually was.

"Attention!"

Ty Lee jumped half a metre in the air and stood quickly alert in a formal stance. Then she noticed a smiling Azula in front of her and frowned. "Don't scare me like that!"

"Have you been standing here since you left?"

"Yes. I couldn't let anyone in to disturb you. If it would hurt my aura, it would hurt anyone else's, so I informed them of that. But look at you!" The energetic teen started smiling broadly. "Your aura is all shiny again!" Pausing she noticed a difference with some bewilderment. "And it's more silvery than it used to be."

"Is it, now? You know, I learned something new about it a week ago. Come on! Share your inner joy! I want to show you something." Taking the acrobats hand and twirling her around in a dance move, she began smiling in earnest.

"It's so wonderful to see you happy."

"I've regained my strength, my life has taken a strong turn upwards, and I'm channelling my inner Ty Lee. How can I not be happy?"

"Your inner... me?" Giving her a quizzical look that soon gave way for amazement, she clapped her hands together merrily. "Ooh! Your aura is turning pink! How do you do that?"

"Emotional control isn't all about suppressing. Displaying and opening up also play great parts in it. Of course, there's a real reason I learned that." Taking a deep breath, she tilted her head towards the skies, and let out a rather large, and very pink flame as she exhaled.

"Your fire has never been prettier! I almost wish I could touch it." She was jumping in place and giggling like the little girl she occasionally behaved as.

"Although I must admit," the firebender began as she took the flames in her hands so she could talk, "I would never have figured this out without you. Your incessant talk about your aura led me to believe there was a connection to how I could create fire of different colours. So, naturally, I tried out pink first."

Ty Lee was about to say something, but a huge yawn put a stop to it.

"Go to bed, Ty. It's late."

"You're right. But then you'll have to tell me about Sokka some other time. Promise me that."

Azula wasn't one to gossip, but with this particular friend, the case was slightly different. "Sure. Just get some sleep."

"Okay!" After giving the taller girl a hug and a kiss on the cheek, she was off in her usual manner.

As she was now alone again, the firebender's mood turned back towards the more serene it had been while meditating. Pondering if getting some sleep would be a good idea, she found she wasn't quite in the mood for that just yet. It was hard to feel sleepy while being so full of energy, literally. She wasn't sure where to go, though.

G U R E R V F A B F H P U G U V A T N F B I R E X V Y Y

Sokka was standing on the bridge where he'd almost kissed Yue. Gazing up at the full moon, he was feeling a little melancholy. It had been brief, but he did love the girl who turned into the Moon Spirit. He'd gotten over her in terms of romance, but there was still a special place in his heart for her.

She'd sacrificed herself to serve her nation, and the spirits. It saddened him, but it also made him proud to be part of her life, even if it wasn't for long. The new girl in his life almost did the same, but not to serve her nation. It was to serve _him_. He wondered what Yue would think about that, but his thoughts were interrupted by a shadow.

Floating towards him on blue flames was one of the girls his mind was focused on. Although, looking closer, he saw that the flames weren't exactly blue. They had a much more silvery hue to them, much like the moon above the Fire Nation. It might've been the overly red environment, but the moon always seemed a little bluer there than elsewhere. Much like the flames that carried Azula.

She landed softly on her knees on the railing and gazed into his eyes. "Hey."

Helping her down to the ground, he smiled back at her. "Hey. I see you're all right now."

"I am. What's on your mind?"

"I was just... thinking about the last time I was here."

His voice held a solemn tone, which she picked up on. While she didn't have all the pieces, she could make a few educated guesses. "About Yue?"

It didn't really surprise him that she knew. She was rather perceptive, after all. Her appearance had also reminded him of his former girlfriend, as she had been after she ascended. As she currently was. "Do you know about her?"

"Not really. I know she's a rather nice Moon Spirit who watches over you. She told me to ask you about why, although I think I can guess."

He missed the implication in his distraction, and went on to tell the story. "When she was born, she was dying, but Tui, the Moon Spirit back then, healed her. Years later, when I came here the first time, Yue was the princess, and I eventually fell in love with her. The Fire Nation attacked, and they killed Tui. But since part of her spirit was within Yue, she took the place as the new Moon Spirit."

"So your other princess girlfriend turned into the moon? That would explain why she was so eager to help me when I brought you here. She's the one who granted me the choice of using my own spirit to fuel my fire. But you don't need to feel guilty about it any longer. She gifted me with part of her own spirit so I could recover."

"Wait, you met her?"

"Yeah. I can see why you fell for her. She's very beautiful, and just as kind."

"Very unlike you."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, although there was a playful glint in them. "Oh, really? You don't think I'm beautiful or kind?"

"Nope. You're just an evil, ugly witch who just happen to have stolen my heart regardless."

Tilting her head, she considered his words, and ended up shrugging. "Oh, well, I can live with that. But you know, there's one thing I've always wanted to try."

"Oh?"

In response, she drew an arc with two fingers through the air, separating yin from yang. After bringing them to her lips, she gave him an expecting glance, then pulled him close. The kiss was electric in more senses than one. Two people, so different, but yet so fitting each other.

The journey of the Blue Dragon came to an end. She had found her answers, her morals, and a beginning to a new life.

The End.

G U R E R V F A B F H P U G U V A T N F B I R E X V Y Y

Author's notes:

Thus ends the story. No sequels are planned. Any sequel to this would be a vastly different story, and none of those are within my imagination at the moment.

Compared to the last few chapters, this was very light-hearted, so it was nice to write. The interactions between Azula and Sokka flowed well for me, despite that I had a few marks I had to hit on the way.

Originally, Yue wasn't supposed to appear (nor was Ty Lee), but she just wanted in on a corner. I don't think it would be particularly realistic (nor interesting) for Sokka to travel to the North Pole with no reference to her at all. I also really don't believe she'd let him die if she could do anything about it.

I'll extend these notes to cover the whole story in general. This will be long.

Overall, I've really enjoyed writing this fanfic. Azula is the most interesting character to write out of all characters I've written, if you include all my non-published fanfics. Sokka's also very interesting, and his intellect and wit work well against Azula's. They weren't supposed to hook up, but once I got to where Azula tried different colours of her fire, the choice kind of made itself. The same goes for Suki and Ty Lee. The only reason Sokka and Suki split up in the first place was to give Azula someone to relate to, and everything grew from there.

Something I've really tried to show is how Azula grows, both in terms of personality, and in terms of skill. A lot of fanfics (and professional works as well, for that matter) have characters who make only short spurts of growth, rather than anything continuously. Since the focus was on Azula, it was harder to show how the other characters grew, but other than learning to cope with the new Azula, they didn't really face anything that would cause them to grow compared to what they'd been through in the series. I tried to get Sokka in with more subtle clues, to see how well that worked alongside the main story.

The hard part about showing how her skills grow was to balance it. Too little, and it won't be noticeable or interesting; too much, and she'll come off as a Canon Sue (a canon character written as a Mary Sue, for those unfamiliar with the term, and if you don't know what a Mary Sue is, look it up). It was fun trying to think of new ways to use bending, though, whether the huge, spirit-killing stuff or the small, cup-freezing things.

I did learn a very valuable lesson in writing this: _If you write a story focusing on a single character, you're limiting yourself a lot more than you might think._ Koh suffered that the most here. I've had several reviews pointing this out (see best review award below, and read that review). I kept going with the same focus as before, so I couldn't really follow those advices in this fic, but I'll certainly think about it in future works. Just to let you know why I don't seem to follow advice when I get it, as it also applies to a lot more than just that one.

One of the things I amused myself the most with was torturing Azula. A recap of what she's been through: Six crash landings, three each with her balloon and her gliders, a few broken ribs, tumbled down a mountain slope, almost drowned, handled harshly as a prisoner, knocked out twice, almost died from draining her own spirit, blacked out a lot of times (anyone want to count? You'll get credit for it!), and zapped with lightning many more times. And that's still not including all cuts and scrapes she's gotten in fights, nor all the emotional trauma she's been through, much of which she has Sokka to thank for (especially the last part). What can I say; _there is no such thing as overkill_. Oh, right, and she got killed once. Almost forgot about that.

It did actually serve a purpose. In my opinion, since I tried to avoid angst, it served to balance the fic somewhat. It would've been much duller otherwise.

Thank you for reading, and an extra thank you to all who reviewed. Special thanks goes to RadiantBeam for being an excellent beta. Best review award goes to Bico (chapter 10), with an honourable mention to RamaFan (chapter 6). _That's_ how you review. Although, compared to what I'm used to reading here on ficnet, standards for all of you are not included in the 90% Sturgeon was talking about.

/ Another Duck


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